The Blood of The Enemy
by ashburn
Summary: Harry begins his 6th year with a girl who shares the same fate as him or so he thought. As the story unfolds he finds that they are not so similar afterall. Will Harry be able to let down his grudges and learn to trust her before Voldemort strikes again?
1. Magnolia Road

Chapter 1: Magnolia Road

Summer was drawing to a close but humidity hung stubbornly over Privet Drive. A scrawny, bespectacled boy, with messy black hair curled up on his bed in a tiny room in number four. His eyes were glassy and faraway. This had become a routine for Harry Potter for the past two months. He would curl up in his bed, which he was quickly outgrowing, and reminisce about his reunion with his godfather Sirius Black three years ago. He would then berate himself for Sirius's death and fantasize about the home he had dreamt of sharing with Sirius, which he knew at the back of his head, would never materialise.

It was a week before he was due for school; however, he had received no letter whatsoever from his magical friends indicating their intentions of picking him up from the Dursley's. Not that he really cared. Not anymore. The Dursleys had been somewhat civilised to him after Mad-Eye Moody and Mr. Weasley's verbal warning to treat Harry nicer. His uncle, who usually enjoyed making Harry's life a living hell, had totally ignored him after his return this summer. Not that Harry was complaining. Unlike the past five summers, Harry felt perfectly fine to be trapped in this house in Little Whinging. Still, he did not understand why it was so hard to fall asleep that night. He checked his watch. It was two o'clock in the morning.

Harry decided that he needed to let out his pent-up frustration. He grabbed his broomstick, a Firebolt, and crept down the stairs, careful not to wake his Uncle and Aunt up. He passed the dark living room, the streetlights casting ghoulish shadows behind him. When he was out on the neatly trimmed lawn, he mounted his Firebolt excitedly and took off into the sky. He flew in circles for awhile, feeling the adrenaline rush, as he did what would probably sent his Uncle Vernon into fits if he had seen him. Uncle Vernon had always been disdainful of the world that Harry and his parents belonged to. He would rather dance naked in a crowd then admit that he had a Wizard for a nephew.

Harry sniggered as he dived headfirst into the gravel driveway below. The Wronski Feint. He had seen Viktor Krum, the international Bulgarian Quidditch seeker, doing it at the Quidditch World Cup two years ago and Harry had been practising hard to master this stunt ever since. When he was about ten feet from the ground, he saw his cousin Dudley standing rooted to the driveway, mouth agape and staring at Harry dumbly. The distraction caused Harry to swerve upward a second too late and he felt his right arm grazed the rough pavement as he rolled off the broom and landed a few feet away. Dudley immediately stepped out of his trance, picked up Harry's broomstick and walked purposefully into the house. He had been trying to get Harry into trouble with his uncle but was greatly disappointed every time he realised that he was not going to get his treat. That had not stopped Dudley from trying.

Harry quickly ran into the house after his cousin's massive figure but the din Dudley was making already woke Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia up. Uncle Vernon was in his blue pyjamas and Aunt Petunia in her pink nightgown. They looked thoroughly annoyed at having been awoken. Harry noticed, to his amazement, that their pyjamas appeared creaseless. That was an idea of how prim the Dursley were.

"What is it, Diddy?" Aunt Petunia said with sleep filled voice.

"Mom, Harry was flying on his broom right outside our house," Dudley said.

"What!" shouted Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon at the same time. That seemed to have jolted them awake entirely.

"Are you crazy?" Uncle Vernon whispered loudly, "the neighbours could have seen you!"

Harry shrugged, which seemed to aggravate Uncle Vernon even more. "Give me back my Firebolt!" Harry demanded. He was not really afraid of his Uncle and his family anymore. He was sixteen and he knew magic.

Uncle Vernon looked at the broomstick still held in Dudley's hand. He looked like he was about to yell for his son to "drop that unnaturalness" any moment but seemed to thought the better of it and stride over to Dudley. He took the broom from him. "I'm confiscating this," he said shrewdly.

"No you're not," Harry challenged, whipped out his wand and pointed them at his Uncle.

"You know you're not allowed to use that," Uncle Vernon warned though Harry was sure he saw a trace of worry on his uncle's face.

"Well, I wasn't last year but I did," Harry said smugly. Aunt Petunia's face turned white, which was a great contrast to Uncle Vernon's red and purple one. He heaved Harry's broom across the length of the living room and it slid to a stop near the boarded up fireplace.

"You know, I don't really care what your freak friends would do," he said angrily, "but I want you out of my house. Out! Out! Out! Go find your murderer of a godfather! I've had enough of you and your ungratefulness!"

Harry felt an immense fury growing within him. How dare he throw the broom that Sirius had bought for Harry and then talk about him that way? He wanted to hex this man in front of him into oblivion. Gold and red sparks emitted from the tip of his wand dangerously. He is not worth it, Harry told himself. He lowered his wand after a minute of internal struggle and pocketed it, all the while, the Dursley were looking at him with sick apprehension. Uncle Vernon's face twitched as it broke into a victorious smirk. The next thing he knew, Harry felt his fist landed squarely on Uncle Vernon's fleshy nose and ran out of the house.

Tears blinded his visions as he sprinted down the empty road of Privet Drive, the emotions that he had been trying to contain within him was suddenly released in torrents. He found himself in the neighbourhood playground once again and remembered with a shiver about the Dementors attack exactly a year ago. He sat on one of the new swings, which had replaced the old one broken by Dudley and his hooligan friends.

He did not know how long he sat there thinking about Sirius. He had not noticed, until that moment, something in the air, beyond the trees and houses, that made Harry's blood turned cold.

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Janieve Walker pulled her pink Wrangler to a stop outside the wrought iron gate that guarded the front of her house. She pressed the electronic gadget fixated in her car and the gate sprang opened.

"Sure you don't want to invite me in?" Her boyfriend asked from the passenger side.

"Will, it's late," Janieve said tiredly, "and my parents are home."

"Alright," Will said, shrugging nonchalantly. He pushed open the passenger door and turned back to Janieve. "I'll see…" but the rest of his words were frozen in his mouth as he looked ahead at Janieve's house. "What the fuck is that?" he whispered.

Janieve twisted around in her seat and saw bright shimmering green smoke hanging sinisterly above her house. On careful look, it was in the shape of a colossal skull, and a serpent near the mouth.

Without hesitation, Janieve sprang out of her car and ran up the driveway which led to her front porch. Her sneakers thudded noisily against the ground in the otherwise quiet night. She could hear Will running some distance behind her.

Suddenly, she came to a halt. Two hooded figures, with masks over their faces, stood eerily on her front porch. Janieve could see in the darkness that there were holding a weird looking, rod-shaped object in each of their hands. Janieve felt a cold sense of dread and she spun around and ran back towards her car.

"Will! Back to the car!" she yelled frantically to her boyfriend. She did not understand why but she knew something was wrong. She waved at him to turn back but he remained stationary on his spot, confused by what Janieve was trying to tell him.

A jet of red light shot past Janieve and hit Will squarely on the chest. There was a look of shock registered on his face, then, as if in slow motion, he fell backward stiffly.

"Will!" Janieve rushed forward with one last surge of energy and keeled over her boyfriend's collapsed form. He laid there motionless, the look of shock still on his face and Janieve felt frantically for a pulse. None.

The next instant, she felt a blow in her back and she too, fell forward, sprawled over Will's dead body.

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Harry saw a flash of red light and a crouching figure toppled over. He had followed the Dark Mark onto Magnolia Road and found it hanging upon a house. No, a mansion. He saw two hooded figures running out of the driveway towards the fallen victim. Death Eaters, he though darkly, his wand clenched tightly in his hand.

He was debating whether he should run up to them and stop them or stay hidden where he was. The Death Eaters were grown, dark wizards and Harry was merely a student in sorcery. There was no way he could beat them. Still, the victim could be alive…

He did not have to consider long for suddenly six wizards apparated out of thin air to block the Death Eaters from the victim. Harry felt a surge of hope as he ran forward to meet them. He could recognise, even from the insufficient streetlights that the six figures were Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mr. Weasley, Mundungus, Remus Lupin, and Nymphadora Tonks.

Lupin had picked up the girl when Harry reached his side. He saw to his horror that there was another boy who had been attacked. However, they had been too late; the boy looked up lifelessly at Harry.

"Let's go Harry!" Lupin shouted as he carried the girl and ran towards a pink jeep. Harry took off after him, Tonks and Mr. Weasley. He chanced a glance backward and saw that the rest of them were putting up a good fight against the two Death Eaters.

They jumped into the car and Mr. Weasley revved up the engine with no delay. They pulled out of the curb and drove out of Magnolia Road.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked, when they were driving on the high street.

"The headquarters," Mr. Weasley replied grimly.

"But my things are still at the Dursley's," said Harry.

"We'll get someone to take them later. The most important now is to get us out of here safely," Lupin answered tersely.

Harry sat in silence for the rest of the journey. If he had thought it was weird that Dementors had turned up in Little Whinging last summer, it was bizarre that Death Eaters had turned up this year. And the fact that they were not attacking him, Harry, but a muggle girl was even more puzzling. Indeed, these Voldermort's supporters hated the muggles or the muggles born wizards and witches. But to send Death Eaters to specifically attack an unarmed girl and her family was simply baffling.

He looked down at the girl now laid between Harry and Lupin, her long black hair splayed out around her stony, but otherwise pretty face.

"Is she going to be okay?" Harry asked finally, breaking the silence as he did.

"Yeah," said Lupin, "a stunning spell, most likely. But she's bound to struggle if we revive her now."

"We're here," announced Mr. Weasley from behind the wheels. Harry looked up at the familiar two brick houses that sandwiched the invisible house that had once been Harry's only hope of freedom. He shook himself off the painful memory as he stepped out of the car, into the first sign of daybreak.


	2. Twist of Fate

Chapter 2: A Twist of Fate

Janieve's eyes snapped open and she saw ten eager faces peering down at her. She let out a soft yelp and all ten faces sprang back in surprise.

"How are you feeling?" asked a man with red hair.

"Who are you people?" Janieve asked jerkily, ignoring the man's question.

"I am Arthur Weasley," he replied politely, and motioned at a plump woman with the same red hair, "this is my wife Molly. And here, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. The red heads are my children, Ron, Fred, George, Ginny… And this is Harry and Hermione."

Janieve sat up and immediately regretted it as a wave of giddiness overwhelmed her. She shut her eyes for a moment to regain her sanity. And then she remembered. Her boyfriend, hit by the jet of red light.

"Will!" she snapped her eyes opened. "Is he – is he…dead?" she asked fearfully. The pale man named Lupin nodded his head solemnly.

Janieve felt her body went numb as if all her feelings had been sucked out from her in one instant. She felt the plump woman pressed a cup of tea into her palms and she took a sip gratefully. But worse thoughts came to her mind.

"I – My parents!" she shrieked hysterically. "They… Did they get them too? The hooded figures… Who were they?"

"Miss Walker, I think what you need now is some sleep," said Lupin soothingly, "and when you awake, Professor Dumbledore should be here to answer all your questions."

Janieve did not want to sleep. She wanted to know what happened. NOW! How did they know her name? Who in the world is this Professor Dumbledore? Where was she? Who are these people and what do they want with her? All these questions buzzed noisily in her head but she did not argue as she felt her eyelids fluttered close. Everything, every sense within her felt peaceful once again as she slipped back into a deep merciful slumber.

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When Janieve awoke, she found herself in the company of an old man with white hair and white goatee that reached his chest. He was gazing intently at her through his half-moon spectacles.

"Good afternoon, Janieve," said the old man, "I see the tea had served you well."

"Who are you?" Janieve asked bluntly.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, School of Wizardry and Witchcraft."

Had she heard him correctly? What the fuck is this nutter raving on about? Wizard and witches, was that what he said?

"Ah… Indeed it is hard for you to understand something like this, when you had been leading your life as a nonmagic person for sixteen years of your life," he went on sympathetically. Janieve just looked at him blankly.

"Haven't you ever experience anything remotely unnatural in the sixteen years of your existence?" he asked knowingly.

And she remembered. She remembered she had nearly drowned five years ago and when she thought she had drank enough seawater, she was suddenly propelled upwards with an unseen force, and the current had miraculously carried her to the safety of the shore. However, they could very have been her hallucination during that near-death encounter.

Strange things had happened too, in the following five years. Sometimes when she was taking a shower, she could see odd shapes forming from the puddles of water on the bathroom floor. But that too, had been cast aside as unfounded imagination due to her phobia of water.

She did not know why all of a sudden, these foolish illusions did not seem so foolish anymore. She looked up at Professor Dumbledore, thunderstruck.

"Yes, you are a witch, and that is a knowledge that your parents knew not of. And that was what had cost them their life." There was a sharp intake of breath by Janieve, then Dumbledore went on, "The rise of a dark wizard, a very evil man, I shall add, hated all muggles, which are non-wizard people like your parents. And he especially hated those who had suppressed the magical powers of a witch like you, whether intentionally or not. That I guessed, had led him to the murders of your parents."

At first Janieve merely stared stonily at the wall ahead of her. Her head leaded with questions and thoughts but none of which made sense or stood out.

"I don't believe you," she said finally.

"All I have to do is to flick my wand, and you'll believe me immediately," Dumbledore replied with an air of surreal calm, "but that is not necessary. What you need, is time. And you have one week of that. After which, I may have to throw you into a magic school, regretfully."

Janieve looked away defiantly as Dumbledore swept out of the room. After he had closed the door behind him, she curled up on her bed as a single tear fell silently onto the soft cotton pillow.

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The Order of the Phoenix refused to divulge anything more than the fact that Janieve Walker, whose family had been attacked by Death Eaters, was going to be joining Hogwarts in sixth year with Ron, Harry and Hermione.

However, Harry had been able to piece together the puzzles from bits of conversation and Harry's own speculation from what he had seen last night. Apparently, Janieve was one of the witches of muggle parentage who had stood in the way of Voldermort's cleansing activities.

The girl had not come down ever since she woke up. She had blatantly refused Mrs. Weasley's offer of food even when the food had been sent right under her nose. Harry understood the grief she must feel over her losses but by going on a hunger strike was not going to bring her parents back and Harry understood that more than anyone else. She was going to push herself into health problems at this rate.

Hence, Harry had made up his mind to talk some sense into this girl. He excused himself early during dinner and with a big plate of turkey sandwiches and chicken pies held in front of him, he crept upstairs quietly, afraid to wake up the portrait of Mrs. Black.

"Hi," said Harry when he was in the semi-dark room, "want some sandwiches?"

Silence.

"Pies?" Harry prompted.

Silence.

Harry sat down on the big arm chair next to her bed. "You can't do without eating anything."

There was another long pause of silence before she finally spoke. "Why do you care?" she said bitterly.

"Look, I know how you feel. Withdrawing yourself from the rest of the world isn't going to make them go away," Harry said.

"Like you would know," came her reply.

Harry scratched at the back of his head irately. He knew that she had probably sounded like a prat because she was hurting. But her cold cynical reply was not making his job any easier.

"You know, you are not the only one with a fucked up life," Harry said angrily.

She snorted derisively. "Oh yeah? Do you know how it feels? To have your parents killed, to see your boyfriend drop dead right before your very eyes, to be kidnapped to an unfamiliar place and then be told that you're actually a witch, with a Dark Wizard after your life? The fact that your parents probably died because of you? Do you even remotely know that feeling?"

Harry was quiet for a very long time. It was almost like she had just thrown his life story back at him. Then, he spoke in a surprisingly calm manner, "as a matter of fact, I do."

Silence.

"You know what?" Harry said finally, "forget it. I don't even know why I bothered." With that he stood up abruptly and stalked out of the room.

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Janieve Walker woke up the following morning feeling utterly refreshed. The little talk she had with the boy had surprisingly calmed her down. There was no crying over spilt milk now and the best way to repay her parents was to live her life to the fullest. Even though, she had no idea what that would mean to her in the foreign world that she had been thrown so cruelly into.

She felt her appetite came back as she sat across the vanity desk, brushing her long silky hair. Her usually bright eyes looked dull from all the crying but Janieve felt so much better than she looked. With a newfound purpose, she braced herself as she stepped out of the room she had inhabited for the first time in the past three days.

She was weaker than she thought as she leaned heavily on the wooden banister that will lead her downstairs. When she reached the top of the stairs, she lost a footing and slipped about twenty steps down with a loud crash. A searing pain shot up from the tail of her spine. _Ouch._

"Filthy rascals! Mudblood! Traitors! Don't know what's good for you! Ugly half-breeds! Mutants! By-product of vile-"

Janieve turned her head to locate the source of the screeching and nearly jumped out of her skin when she did. A vicious-looking woman sitting in the portrait to her left was yelling dirty language at Janieve. Janieve thought she had lost her mind right there when she suddenly recalled, unpleasantly, that everything in her life now had been everything but normal.

"Hey!" a voice called tentatively. Janieve saw a boy around her age with red hair tugged the curtain close over the portrait and the woman immediately went quiet.

"Hey," Janieve called back weakly.

The boy came over and hoisted her up. "You alright?" he asked, his slightly freckled face lined with panicky concern.

Janieve nodded.

"I'm Ron Weasley," he said, thrusting out his long arms to shake her hands.

"Janieve Walker," Janieve supplied.

"You looked really pale. Do you want something to eat?" Ron asked.

"Maybe she was just frightened by the way you look!" An older boy with the same red hair yelled and grinned at her from behind Ron. There was another red head standing beside him with an identical grin and Janieve presumed, without a doubt that they are twins.

"Fred Weasley," offered the first twin.

"George Weasley," said the second, "though we would rather you ignored the fact that we shared the same last name." He was gesturing at Ron as he said that. "We would prefer to deny the fact that we're actually related, right Fred?"

Fred nodded furiously and added, "Not exactly a wise thing to acknowledge."

Janieve stifled a laugh, which was the wrong thing to do because it only aggravated her already weak physique and caused a series of dry cough to rack her being.

"Hey!" another surprised voice.

Janieve turned and saw the boy that had talked to her last night. In the daylight, she could see his chiselled face more clearly. His startling emerald eyes met her black ones and she nearly shuddered at the greenness. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes no doubt but he was smiling nonetheless.

"Harry Potter," he said.

Janieve reached out her hand to shake his outstretched one as a wave of darkness engulfed her and she felt herself slipping… slipping… and all she managed to grasp was thin air.


	3. Making Friends and Making Foes

Chapter 3: Making Friends and Making Foes

"Honestly," said a female voice, "you should have the sense to feed her something first. I would understand if it had just been Ron. But you, Harry, how could you?"

"What!" Exclaimed a voice which Janieve suspected was Ron's. "I did offer her food. But Fred and George just came and talked to her…" and his voice was drowned out as a bout of accusations flew, none of which distinguishable.

Janieve felt light headed. She was wide awake now, but her eyelids felt too heavy to open. "Cut it out!" she said loudly.

The silence punctured by her voice was almost immediate. And just as quickly, the noise picked up again as she heard quite a number of voices asking her if she was alright.

She sat up groggily and snapped her eyes open forcefully. "I'm fine."

"Have some juice," offered a bushy hair, browned eyed girl.

"Thanks," Janieve muttered and took the drink from her gratefully. It tasted like blackcurrant juice. Her vision cleared tremendously. "What happened?"

"You fainted," said the girl cleverly, "must be a lack of sugar in your bloodstream. By the way I'm Hermione Granger." Janieve returned the girl's beaming face with a slight smile.

"Ginny Weasley," said another strawberry blonde she had not noticed was there before. She was younger, but she bore the same mischievous grin as Fred and George.

She knew she should feel overwhelmed by the sudden intrusion of so many people hovering way too close to her. However, she felt perfectly comfortable in their company even though she barely knew them. Her 'friends' she had were all rich spoilt children of her parents' business associates. She doubted it would ever be possible to catch them displaying such warmth to another human being this lifetime, the warmth that she was experiencing right now.

They spent the remaining of the afternoon telling her about Hogwarts and explaining the different houses that will split all newcomers into a house that best suit their nature. She also had the honour of seeing Fred and George performing some simple spells and disapparating and apparating for her benefit. It was an eye-opener for her.

By evening, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Remus Lupin, a bubblegum pink haired girl named Nymphadora Tonks and a ghastly looking man with chunks of skin falling off his face, introduced as Mad-Eye Moody, was back. He was the scariest man Janieve had ever seen, with his scar worn face and an electric blue eyeball swinging around in all direction in one of his sockets. Throughout dinner, she avoided looking at him at all cost. However, she felt with an eerie sensation that he, on the other hand, had been staring at her throughout the meal. Mrs. Weasley had whipped out a delicious spread consisting of roasted ham, steak, baked potatoes and corn, and treacle tart for dessert.

"Janieve," said Mrs. Weasley, "I've already helped you bought your school supplies from Diagon Alley when I was shopping for Ron, Ginny and Harry's. However, it occurred to me that you would need to go down personally to select your wand. So, I was thinking maybe we would go down on Saturday? Arthur would be free to come along too, and then maybe we can have Ron, Harry and Hermione to accompany you."

"Yeah, sure," Janieve mumbled between mouthful of food.

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If she said she no longer grieved over the death of her parents and Will, she would be lying through her teeth. The fact was, Janieve still bawled herself to sleep every night, unknown to everyone. However, the day had been made endurable and sometime even, enjoyable by the company of her new friends. Fred and George had been the most successful at making her crack a genuine smile.

They had made a series of interesting inventions that they had intend to sell at their new joke shop. If truth be told, interesting would be an understatement to describe the hilarious and creative gadgets the twins managed to come up with.

There was the Ton-Tongue Toffee which Harry revealed, had caused his irksome cousin Dudley's tongue to grow to an enormous length of seven feet. There were also the Skiving Snack box and the Canary Cream. The twins had also forced the lot of them to try a few of their new creations like Bloated Belly Burst which is a candy that made them swell to ten times their size and then the air was let out of them with a loud 'burst'.

Saturday arrived at an alarming speed. Fred, George, and Ginny had decided to skip the Diagon Alley trip due to a case of bad flu bug, which Janieve suspected had something to do with the Skiving Snack box.

Janieve was given the treat of her life – Floo Network. They had used the Floo Network, a commonly use of transport for the Wizards and Witches to The Burrow, the Weasley's humble house near the Diagon Alley. The Floo Network was basically a tool that transports people from one fireplace to another fireplace. A little Floo powder plus a loud and clear shout of the desired destination would bring them to the fireplace of their desired location.

Hermione had disappeared upon their arrival at Diagon Alley, mumbling an excuse to go to the local book shop, Flourish and Blotts. The remaining five of them walked into Mr. Ollivander's wand shop.

"Here, here," said the enthusiastic shopkeeper, "first time?" he asked.

Janieve nodded meekly. The man picked up a wand and thrust it into her hands. And then he drew it back almost immediately. "No good," he muttered.

He began throwing her different coloured wands with different lengths and thickness and withdrawing them with an affirmative shake of his head. Finally, he handed her a white medium length wand which had gold, thread-like lines marring the otherwise snowy white rod.

"There you go," boomed the man, "ten inches, made from the horn fibres of a unicorn. Unicorns are pure-hearted magical creatures. Takes a wizard or witch of character to control this wand. Well done! That's twenty galleons, please." Mr. Ollivander stretched out his open palms towards her but all Janieve did was gape at him.

"Twenty galleons, there you go," said Arthur Weasley, thrusting twenty great gold coins towards the wand maker. The exited the shop and made their way towards Flourish and Blotts to look for Hermione.

"Wow! What a beautiful wand!" gushed Hermione when Janieve showed her wand to her.

"You bet it does," said Ron mournfully, "cost twenty galleons, that wand!"

"That's exactly how much the Weasley's house is worth isn't it?" said a nasty voice.

Janieve whirled around and came face to face with a ghoulish pale face with a sneer plastered on his face. His hair, if it could even be called hair, was white and slicked backwards like an unused mop.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Harry spat.

"Make me, Potter," said Malfoy with equal vehement.

They stared each other down for a long time, as if locked in an unspoken challenge for one to try fighting the other. But neither moved or said a thing.

"What's the matter?" said Mr. Weasley, who had caught up with them from behind.

"Nothing," said the Malfoy brat, "just having a little chat with your son, and his little mudblood friends."

Harry, Ron and Mr. Weasley looked like they were going to hex Malfoy but Mrs. Weasley and Hermione held them back.

"Ron! Harry! Forget it! Ignore him!" Hermione pleaded.

"Arthur, no! Not an underage wizard and definitely not in front of such a crowd," shouted Mrs. Weasley. That seemed to calm him down considerably.

"He called her and Harry a… you know what he called them, Molly," he spluttered, when the girls had managed to pull the guys away from Malfoy.

"It's okay Mr. Weasley, I don't care. It's just a stupid name that doesn't hurt." Said Hermione quickly.

"Wait, I don't understand, what did he said?" Janieve asked, bewildered.

"A mudblood, he called Hermione and me a mudblood," Harry whispered quietly, so that Janieve had to strain her ears to hear him, "It's a very offending word to describe a wizard or witch with muggle parentage."

The group of them walked back to the Burrow with Ron swearing all the way back the jinxes he would put on Malfoy when he see him next. Janieve had taken an immediate dislike to this Malfoy character already.


	4. The News That Kills

Chapter 4: The News That Kills

"Harry! Ron! Get your ass down now! You're going to be late! Ginny! Hermione! Janieve" hollered Mrs. Weasley from the kitchen below. Harry stuffed his last piece of clothing into his suitcase and slammed the lid shut. He grabbed Hedwig by the neck and pushed her unceremoniously into her cage. Ron was scrambling around in the room, overturning bed sheets and pillows to look for his prefect badge.

Downstairs, they could hear Mrs. Black's portrait ranting and cursing the dwellers of the house. As before, nobody bothered to draw the curtain over her. Ginny popped her head into their room on her way down with Janieve and Hermione. "We are going to be late you know, if you guys don't leave your room now." Ginny warned.

"I can't find my badge!" Ron yelled uncharacteristically.

"Mom had it pin to your robe already." Ginny informed him. Ron let out a weird noise that sounds something between a grunt and a sigh.

"Ron! Ginny!" came Mrs. Weasley's voice again.

"Coming!" The five of them dragged their suitcases and owl cages down the stairs noisily.

Breakfast was a messy affair. Flying jars of butter and jam, and cartons of milk and orange juice in the kitchen was the twins' idea of a way to speed things up. However, the flying glasses often crashed into one another, making things more chaotic than it was. Mrs. Weasley cries of protest at the twins did not make the situation any better. Finally Ginny, Janieve, Hermione, Ron and Harry found themselves standing on the porch of Grimmauld Place number twelve. Harry felt as if he had just emerged from a battlefield.

"How are we going to the station?" asked Ron, speaking what exactly was on Harry's mind.

Mr. Weasley pointed at Janieve's jeep wrangler and Janieve's mouth fell opened. "That's not going to fit," she protested. She looked around frantically at Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Harry, Lupin, Tonks, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Moody, and Kingsley, counting numbers off her fingers as she did so and realised that there were not enough fingers.

Harry felt his mouth twitch involuntarily. The look on Janieve was priceless. He could not wait to see her expression when she got in the car.

"We did a charm on the car to make it fit," informed Tonks brightly.

"Get on with it then," growled Moody.

They piled into the pink vehicle and the twelve of them fitted into it perfectly. As Harry had predicted, there was a look of awe on Janieve's pretty face.

"Bloody brilliant," she muttered disbelievingly, having caught on with Harry and Ron's lingo. The inside of the vehicle seemed to have expanded to the size of a limo. The backseats had curved into a circular shape that allowed comfortable space for ten.

"Oye guys, do visit the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes during Hogsmeade," said Fred cheerily.

"Yeah, ten percent discount off your first purchase," added George.

Mrs. Weasley shot the twins a stern look but did not say anything. Harry heard from Ron that the twins had got into a lot of trouble with their mother after they were expelled from school before the end of school term last year. But after much teary debate (tears supplied by Mrs. Weasley), she had allowed them to fulfil their lifelong dream – open their own joke shop.

Using what remained of Harry's Triwizard money and some savings they had stashed from selling their products to the Hogwart's students, the twins had taken over Zonko's, the joke shop in Hogsmeade.

They entertained themselves with small talk until they reached King's Cross station. They carried their trunks, Crookshanks, Pidwedgeon, and Hedwig, and struggled to the wall between platforms nine and ten. Lingering casually beside the barrier between platforms nine and ten, they leaned against it one by one and fell through easily on to platform nine and three-quarters when no one was looking. Hogwarts Express stood over a platform of departing students and their families. Harry took in the familiar surroundings and felt a fresh pang of pain and regrets, and his ribs throbbed. One year ago, Sirius had transformed into a large black dog to send him off on this very platform. Harry looked around him, as though hoping for the dog to emerged once again from the crowd.

"Take care now, Harry," said Lupin, drawing him into a hug and patting him on his back, "If there's anything, anything at all, that you need help or advice on… Well, not that I am exactly a role model, but if you just need someone older to talk to, feel free to write to me."

Harry smiled at Lupin gratefully. He knew that Lupin had said that to Harry because he could no longer turn to Sirius. Lupin remained the last living connection Harry had with his father. "Will do," said Harry.

"Harry," said Mrs. Weasley as she came over to Harry, "if anything should happen, talk to Dumbledore. He'll know what do." Harry nodded. He had not quite forgiven Dumbledore for keeping Harry in the dark about the prophecy of Harry and Voldermort, which had cost Sirius's life. However, he also knew that Dumbledore always has his interest at heart, hence he did not argue with Mrs. Weasley.

After they had all bid their goodbyes, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Janieve board the Hogwarts Express, a scarlet steam engine.

"So, let's get an empty compartment, shall we?" suggested Harry.

"Er…" began Ron.

"We need to attend the prefect meeting," finished Hermione for him. Right, Harry nearly forgot, Hermione and Ron had been made head prefect for the house of Gryffindor and Ginny too had been appointed the new prefect for the fifth years. Hermione handed Janieve Crookshanks while Harry struggled with two owl cages – Hedwig's and Pidwedgeon's after they left.

"Come on," Harry said to Janieve, "we might still find seats."

Janieve followed Harry quietly down the aisle and finally Harry found Neville, Dean and Seamus sitting in one of the cabin. He pushed open the sliding door and took a seat beside Neville. That was when he noticed Janieve still standing awkwardly at the doorway.

Harry cleared his throat, "Er, everyone, this is Janieve Walker, a new student who will join us sixth years. Janieve, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Neville Longbottom," he said, motioning at each of the boys as he ticked off their names.

"Hi," Janieve said shyly as she took a seat beside Harry. Dean and Seamus said 'hi' back but Neville was too absorbed in reading the Daily Prophets to notice her or Harry.

"Will you be sorted, like the first years?" Seamus was asking Janieve.

"Uhh…," said Janieve.

"Well, Harry didn't tell you about the houses?" Dean asked, giving Harry an incredulous look.

Harry shrugged. And then they launched into a full description of the four houses that Hogwarts was divided into – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. They gave her the bit by bit low down on the type of people that will be sorted into the type of houses. Then, they ended the description with Slytherin, describing them as unscrupulous and evil.

"What house is that Malfoy character in? Janieve asked Harry curiously.

"Slytherin," Harry answered.

"You met Draco Malfoy?" asked Dean, a look of dislike written on his face.

Before Janieve could answer, Neville gave out a loud frustrated cry, catching everyone's attention.

"I can't believe this!" he shouted in a very un-Neville way, crushed the Daily Prophets, threw it aside, and stormed out of the compartment, crushing Harry's toes as he did.

Dean, Seamus and Harry stared after Neville in disbelief while Janieve reached across Harry to pick up the crunched up newspaper. She smoothed it out and began reading the article that had caused the bizarre reaction from Neville. Harry peered over Janieve's shoulder.

_Ministry's Blunder_

_Once again, the Ministry had proven its incompetence in the handling of Voldermort's return. Due to the previous denial of Harry Potter's claim of the return of the Dark Lord two summers ago, the Dark Lord had been able to gather and regroup his supporters easily and quickly. Muggles and Muggle-born wizards had been attacked all over the country over the past two months and the situation was aggravated when some of Voldermort's most loyal supporters were broken out of Azkaban a week ago. The Ministry had been trying to hush the matter rather than admit the serious negligence on their part. The escaped prisoners, which includes Lucius Malfoy, Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange, who were regarded as highly dangerous supporters of Voldermort, was suspected to have escaped with the help of the Dementors, guards of Azkaban. Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, had long warned the Ministry of the Dementors being not trustable as they were known to be on Voldermort's side before his fall fifteen years ago. It seems as though the Ministry need to step up their fight against Voldermort and prove themselves worthy before the people start losing their faith in them…_


	5. The Sorting Hat

Chapter 5: The Sorting Hat

Harry felt his body trembled furiously. How could they? He thought angrily.

"What is it?" Dean asked eagerly. Janieve handed the newspaper to him. Both he and Seamus scanned the article hastily. Janieve looked pretty upset, but probably not as much as Harry. How could they let this happen again? No wonder Neville was upset. The Lestranges had tortured Neville's parents into insanity when he was still a toddler. Now, neither parent, who lied in St. Mungo's hospital, recognised Neville.

Harry too, had lost his godfather two months ago, in the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white.

When Dean and Seamus had finished reading the article, Dean's face was significantly paler. Harry did not blame him for he knew that Dean had come from a muggle family and this piece of news seemed to pose the most danger to him than anyone else. Then Harry thought of Hermione. She would be in danger too if the Death Eaters had really become so bold.

The four of them sat in silence until Hermione, Ron and Ginny came back from their prefect's meeting. Neville had not come back. They took turns to go to the bathroom to change into their Hogwarts robes as the Hogwarts castle loomed into view.

Stepping onto Hogsmeade station, Harry stared at the carriages that will fly them up to Hogwarts and the ugly black winged horses pulling them known as Thestrals. Although Harry was no longer frightened by them, having ridden them to the Ministry of Magic last year, they still looked unnerving.

They found Neville already in one of the carriages and quickly climbed onto it. Janieve, however, lingered back fearfully. Harry saw the Thestrals reflected in her eyes and he reached out a hand to her.

"It's alright, they are harmless," Harry said encouragingly. She took Harry's hand gratefully, but still casting dubious looks at the winged horses as she climbed ungracefully into the carriage.

The Thestrals took flight and soared into the sky, lifting the carriages along with them. After flying for a while, the castle of Hogwarts loomed into view. The shape grew bigger until finally they started to descend. They jingled to a halt near the stone steps leading up to the oak front doors. The group got out and joined the crowd hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. Janieve had left them and joined Hagrid with the first years. Torches along the Entrance Hall were burning brightly and the footsteps of the students were thundering as they headed for the Great Hall on the right.

There were four rows of tables in the Great Hall which were quickly filling up, anxious faces eagerly awaiting the start-of-term feast. Harry took a seat between Ron and Neville and across Hermione at the Gryffindor table. He looked over the head of the students and scanned the staff table. He saw Professor McGonagall sitting next to Professor Dumbledore. There was Snape, Flitwick, Firenze… And someone Harry did not recognise.

She had long flowing brown hair that curled gracefully at the end. Even though her face was lined with age, Harry could still tell she must have been really pretty when she was young.

"Do you reckon she's our new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher?" Ron asked, his eyes too, were fixated on the mysterious woman.

Harry shrugged.

Hermione looked like she was going to say something but she was interrupted by the arrival of Hagrid and the first-years that looked scared, wet and hungry. They stood in one straight line in front of the staff table, facing the rest of the students. Janieve was standing at the end of the line. An ancient wizard hat sitting on a stool was placed before them.

"What advice do you thing the Sorting Hat will give us this year?" asked Ron.

Last year the sorting hat had changed the song it sang to something deeper. Something about the school staying together, united as one, to avoid dangers. Thinking back, the advice had proven worthy. The school had to stay united before they managed to drive the bitch Umbridge away. There were of course exceptions, like those from the Slytherins. Harry's thoughts were drove rudely away when the Sorting Hat burst into a song, its brim opened wide like a mouth:

_In time when magic lost control_

_A school for learning it would cure_

_So four friends came and contribute_

_A Hogwarts remained standing sure_

_But differences strife among us_

_For different men work for different goal_

_Divided and decided one day_

_A hat would sort all unique souls_

_Proud and cunning Slytherin_

_Would only take the purest all_

_And the bravest will be taught_

_By the daring Gryffindor_

_So said the smartest Ravenclaw_

"_I'll only teach the best in test!"_

_Oh Hufflepuff! Good Hufflepuff!_

_Decided to keep the rest_

_But one day, Salazar left_

_A dispute with dear Godric_

_In which Rowena and Helga _

_Tried vainly to play the peace_

_So harmony it did not stay_

_One after the other, they left the school_

_And to fulfil the founders' wish_

_I remained as the sorting tool_

_Hogwarts' history I have told_

_You know the story, you know the score_

_Condemned I am to split you_

_But I see the need to tell you more_

_Last year, too, I went further_

_To warn you of the danger that awaited_

_Even when discord creep among us_

_The houses must stay united_

_And this year it is more important_

_To put away old feelings of resentment_

_For enmity may spread among you_

_And signs of peril more prominent_

_Mistrust breeds and suspicions rose_

_Though they are not unfounded_

_To win this war, listen to the heart_

_And beliefs firmly grounded_

_Listen to me and listen hard_

_Or we'll collapse from within_

_I have told you, I have warned you_

_Let the Sorting now begin_

"Wow," said Ron, "that was something."

Professor McGonagall stood up and strode over to the stool that sat the hat. "When I called your name, stepped out and put the hat on your head," she said.

"Bailey, Timothy."

A baby faced boy with curly blonde hair stepped forward and placed the hat tentatively on his head. "Ravenclaw!" the Hat shouted and a loud cheer erupted from the table next to Harry.

"Fayer, Amara!"

A short hair brunette with really sharp features walked up to the Hat with a scowl on her face. Harry knew that she would be sorted to Slytherin even before the Hat had announced that.

The sorting continued as more names were called. Evelyn Pease and Kenneth Rowland were sent to Gryffindor while Magdelene McConnor was sent to Hufflepuff.

"Walker, Janieve."

Janieve placed the big straw hat awkwardly over her head, and Harry waited…

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Janieve plopped the oversized hat over her head and waited.

_Ahhh… I've never seen one quite like you since twenty years ago._

What? Are you talking to me?

_Indeed. I remember quite clearly now. He was headstrong, just like you. Refused to be sent to Slytherin._

Slytherin? No way!

_There you go, point proven. The blood in you runs the blood of Slytherin. Salazar would have been proud to take you. For in you, I see the qualities he had requested for. Requested for on the day I was sewn._

I think I'm going nuts, talking to a hat in my head.

_No, you're not. Everyone goes through this. Every student in this school._

Really?

_Really. But wait, you may belong to Slytherin, but you will do well in Gryffindor._

Now, you're making sense.

_Well, I always do. Though not many people actually see my point._

Get on with it will you?

_Sure. Let's see. Yes, now I see. You do have the qualities and virtues to be in all four houses. But I think I'm going to follow my instinct._


	6. Winter and Water

Chapter 6: Winter and Water

"Gryffindor!" burst the Sorting Hat. There was a loud cheer coming from the Gryffindor table. Janieve stood up, smiled weakly at a cheering Harry, and walked unsteadily to the Gryffindor table. She took a seat beside him.

The sorting continued with three more first years before it was over. Dumbledore stood up and addressed the students. Immediately, the buzzing Great Hall fell silent.

"Good evening, residents of Hogwarts," came Dumbledore's sombre voice, "before we start our feast, I would like to inform you that there will be a few minor alterations to the school rules, due to the return of you-know-who. Those could be found on the notice board outside Mr. Filch's office. For the benefits of the first years and the new students, I would like to repeat and stress that the Forbidden Forest is strictly out of bounds." At this, Dumbledore cast a meaningful look in Harry's direction. "I know it is a difficult time for most of us, with the rise of the Dark Lord. Many of you who came from long-standing Wizarding family would know of the terror that he-who-must-not-be-named would instil among us. It is also only natural that those who came from muggle families would fear for the safety of yourself and your family. If anyone should find themselves on the verge of a breakdown, please feel the need to consult help from any of our friendly professors, including me. Lastly, I would like to introduce to you our new Potions teacher, Miss Florence Winter. The position of the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts would be taken over by your previous Potions teacher, Mr. Severus Snape. Now, shall we let the feast begin?" With a wave of his wand, all sorts of delicacies appeared on the table in front of Janieve.

"Wow…" she mumbled in awe. If she had thought Mrs. Weasley was a great cook, it was nothing compared to this. Ron, Hermione and Harry, however, did not seem too please despite the food.

"I can't believe it!" cried Ron. "How could he let Snape be our Defence teacher? He'll more likely teach us how to use the Dark Arts than to defend it."

"Well, I wouldn't mind learning that," said Harry gloomily, "I would like to try the Avada Kedavra on Voldermort."

Ron winced and Hermione gave Harry a reproachful look. "Look, Snape's not that bad. If Dumbledore thinks Snape is up to the job, then he most probably is," she said.

"Well perhaps Dumbledore simply could not find a replacement. I mean, how many of our Defence teacher actually lasted more than a year? That position is jinxed," Ron argued. Then, his face lit up and he added in a more hopeful tone, "actually that wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Janieve, puzzled. Harry began to fill her in on the five different Professors that had taught them Dark Arts and why they had not lasted. He also told her about the vendetta he had with Snape (excluding the one about Harry's father taunting Snape when they were fifteen) and ended it by telling her what a slimy git Snape is.

"Snape is not a slimy git!" Hermione protested, though quite unconvincingly.

"Wait! Are you telling me… that Lupin is a werewolf?" Janieve blurted, feeling quite taken aback by this revelation.

"Didn't you know?" Harry asked. Janieve shook her head.

"Well, it doesn't matter. He's still the best Defence teacher we've ever got," stated Harry.

Janieve had always thought Remus Lupin looked rather peaky, but she would never have imagined that he was actually a werewolf. She did not even know that werewolves actually existed before this. This new world that Janieve suddenly found her in was getting more and more tricky. She only prayed that she would not suffer from a heart attack before the end of this school year.

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"Double Potions and double Transfiguration… Great, just great… The dungeon first thing in the morning," muttered Ron, his eyes scanning the newly issued timetable. It was the first morning of school and most of the students were having their breakfast in the Great Hall.

"Honestly Ron, it's not that bad," chided Hermione, "at least you know you can breathe easy in Potions now."

"The smelly dungeon?" yelled Ron. "No way!"

"You know what I mean," she replied sternly.

"Hold your breath Hermione," said Harry, "we don't know that for sure."

Meanwhile, Neville was making some sort of odd noise at the other end of the Gryffindor table, his voice drifted over to where Harry was seated. "I can't believe I dropped Potions for nothing," he said miserably.

It was open knowledge that Snape picked on Neville nearly all the time in his Potions class and that Neville's fear for him was enough to make him drop the subject despite its importance – something that Hermione always stressed on.

"I can't believe you dropped potions," said Hermione disapprovingly, "it's one of the most important subjects in Magic."

"Well, if I had known Snape wasn't going to teach us Potions, I wouldn't have dropped it," said Neville hoarsely.

Harry turned to look at Janieve. She was playing with her bowl of cereal with a spoon, her mind clearly somewhere else.

"What's up?" Harry asked, concerned.

"Nothing really. It's just…" she said, then continued in a confidential whisper, "I've never taken these subjects before, I'm not sure if I can cope. I don't even know what the hell Potions is about."

"Well…" said Harry, thinking hard, "Potions is something like Muggles' Chemistry. It involves adding and mixing different ingredients to brew something really useful. It's really fun, or at least I imagined it to be without Snape barking at you from behind."

Janieve looked a lot more relieved after that. They headed down to Snape's dungeon out of habit after breakfast but were shooed away by Snape.

"Potions is with Professor Winter," he snarled, "her classroom is beside Professor Binn's."

"Does that mean that we're going to have our Defence class in that creepy dungeon?" Ron had asked fearfully after that. Nobody answered him but from the look on everyone's face, Harry knew Ron had got the point.

They piled into Professor Winter's classroom. It was a major contrast to Snape's dungeon. There was a pleasant smell of morning dew and the room was brightly lit. There was a ceiling to floor cabinet behind their new Potion Master's desk, its shelves filled up by colourful assortment of potions in small conical flask.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Janieve took their seats behind one of the benches, a pile of ingredients laid out in front each of them. Harry recognised some of the ingredients to be garlic, leeches, and the skin of a Boomslang.

"I took the liberty of preparing your ingredients for you," began Professor Winter. "Now, can anyone tell me from the looks of it, what Potion do I want you to make today?"

Hermione's hand shot up in the air immediately.

"Very good," said Professor Winter, "your name?"

"Hermione Granger. We are making Anti-Turning Potions. It is to prevent victims of a vampire bite from turning into one," Hermione said confidently.

"Well done," said Professor Winter, "Ten points to Gryffindor. Very good indeed. Miss Granger that is? I am impressed." Hermione tried vainly not to look too pleased with herself. "Just follow the steps I've written on the board," she told the class while waving her wand at the white board behind her, and words began scribbling furiously on it, "I want your potions ready by the end of this class. Queries on class-related topics would be welcome."

A loud snicker came from the Slytherin side and Harry saw that it came from Draco Malfoy. "Please, professor," he said in a condescending voice, "it's not like those vile creatures are actually capable of attacking us."

Professor Winter looked up from her table and fixed Malfoy with a penetrating gaze. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Draco Malfoy," he said smugly.

"Are you sure Mr. Malfoy? Perhaps you've already been bitten without realising, with that sickly white skin of yours," she said in a low but menacing voice. Then, she added coolly, "Ten points from Slytherin for disrupting the class."

And that shut Malfoy up for good. Harry took a liking to this woman already. Although the way she handled the situation was uncannily like their previous Potion teacher, Severus Snape, the fact that the receiver of the insult was not Harry but Harry's archenemy Draco Malfoy brought a smile to Harry's lips.

Janieve was having a lot of trouble recognising the ingredients and dealing with the leeches, having not handled any before. Harry had to struggle with his own cauldron of mixtures, while assisting Janieve with hers. However, they managed to fill up their transparent flask with a satisfactory yellow liquid before the end of the bell.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Harry asked Janieve, as they thronged out of the classroom.

Janieve shook her head. "Yeah, it wasn't so bad," she confirmed and gaze up at Harry with a smile that made his insides squirm.

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Harry, Janieve, Ron and Hermione grabbed some ham and chicken legs and walked out to the lake outside the castle seeing that it was such a good weather day. They sat down behind one of the bushes and tucked into their lunch.

Janieve was brandishing off her last piece of chicken leg when she noticed something peculiar moving in the lake. "D'ya see that?" she asked alarmingly. The movement was sudden but it was unmistakeable. The water had swirled up into an odd shape of a claw. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed her pointing finger. The shape was gone.

"What? I don't see anything," said Ron anxiously. Janieve looked at Harry and Hermione.

"Me neither," said Harry.

"What was it? What did you see?" Hermione asked.


	7. The Ears Behind The Wall

Chapter 7: The Ears Behind The Walls

"The water, they…" Janieve began, then shook her head and said, "Never mind, it's gone now." She did not know how to describe the phenomenon she had just seen. There was no word for it, except, maybe, magical.

"Come on," Hermione said tersely, "it's Transfiguration and I don't want to miss it. She's going to teach us human transfiguration."

"You wouldn't miss it even if she wants us to transfigure ourselves into dung," muttered Ron but he got to his feet anyhow.

They ambled back to the castle and found themselves in Professor McGonagall's classroom moments before she came in.

"Good afternoon class," she said, "This year, you'll find half of our lessons dedicated to human Transfiguration. The second half, however, you'll learn how to Disapparate. When you've turned seventeen years of age, you may go down to the Apparating Test Centre for your Apparition test." There was an excited buzz coming from the students. Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and the buzzing ceased. "Exciting year indeed, but I would like to warn you that this year's lesson would be more complicating and dangerous as well. Hence, it is even more important for you to follow my instructions carefully, or you may find yourself with a Blast-Ended Skrewt's sting growing on your body or find your body splinched." The whole class gasped at this except Janieve.

"What is she talking about?" Janieve whispered to Harry.

"Sometimes, when Apparating goes wrong, a person may find half his body stuck in the original place, while the other half in the place he had Apparated to. This is known as splinching," he whispered back, "As for the Blast-Ended Skrewts, you'd be better off not knowing them."

"If Mr. Potter and Miss Walker would gladly join us back in this class from their little private conversation, we would be ready to start the class." All heads turned to look at them and Janieve blushed heavily. "Good," Professor McGonagall went on, "I want you to turn to page two hundred and ninety of your textbook and read the entire topic on human Transfiguration. I would not start your practical lessons until I am sure you have got all your theories right. I'll be giving you a quiz the week after next. Questions would be allowed but no talking."

That night, in the Gryffindor Tower, Janieve found herself trying to catch up on five years of lost work. Hermione had tried to explain all the potions that they had learnt from their first year up to now and Janieve was not sure if she had remembered all of them. She was not even sure she remembered any of them at all. Hermione however, had let her take a break from Potions and was teaching her how to transfigure hedgehogs into pin cushions.

"Now you're getting it," Hermione said encouragingly, when Janieve finally managed to transform her hedgehog into a pin cushion that does not squirmed under the threat of a pin, after several unsuccessful attempts.

"If this is how long I'm going to take to learn a simple transfiguration, I shudder to think about how I'm going to transfigure myself," Janieve announced dramatically.

"You're doing very well for someone who only knows about magic barely a week ago," Hermione argued.

"And that is saying something, coming from Hermione," added Ron.

"Thanks," Janieve said doubtfully, "but somehow that does not make me feel any better about transfiguring myself into something else."

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On Tuesday morning, Janieve and Hermione had History of Magic with Professor Binns, the ghost teacher. Harry, Ron and a great deal of Gryffindor sixth years had dropped that subject due to its boring nature. It was supposed to be free time for them but Harry had Occlumency lessons with Professor Dumbledore and he left Ron in the company of Dean, Seamus and Neville before heading to the headmaster's office.

He reached the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office and gave the password that Dumbledore had given him. The gargoyle sprang to life and leapt aside. The wall behind it split in two to reveal a stone staircase that was moving continually upwards like a spiral escalator. Harry stepped on to the moving stairs as the wall closed behind him with a thud. He was moved upwards in tight circles until he reached the highly polished oak door with the brass knocker shaped like a griffin. Harry was reaching for the knocker when a voice inside made his hand froze in midair.

"Are you sure she can be trusted?"

"Severus, I trust her as much as I trust you," said Professor Dumbledore.

"But if they find her, if she finds out, and turn against us, she knows too much about us. She will be a liability," argued Snape urgently.

"Well, I have my utmost faith in her. And even if she did turn against us, that is a risk I am willing to take," Professor Dumbledore said.

"But Professor…" began Snape again.

"I think," cut in Professor Dumbledore, with a tone of finality in his voice, "that it is time for you to go." Snape did not answer and a few seconds later the door in front of Harry sprang open.

"You," Snape snarled, his long bony finger pointing at Harry, "What were you doing outside?" Snape looked almost worried. His tone was accusatory.

"Er…" Harry said hesitantly. He was suddenly reminded of the time he had sneaked a look into Snape's worst memory from the pensieve and being caught red-handed by him.

"What did you hear?" he asked angrily. Harry opened his mouth to speak but someone else beat him to it.

"He is here for Occlumency lesson with me," said Professor Dumbledore from his seat, "you may go now, Severus," he added.

Snape cast another loathing look in Harry's direction before sidestepping him and exited the office.

"Sit down, Harry," said Dumbledore from behind his desk and half-moon spectacles. Harry obliged. "So, what did you hear outside my office?" he asked Harry when he had taken his seat across him.

"Nothing," Harry replied. His headmaster gave him a long searching look before saying, "Very well, let's began our lesson shall we?"

Harry nodded but his mind was somewhere far away. He did not know who Snape and Dumbledore were talking about. However, he did know that whatever they said was not meant for Harry to hear. And that only intensified Harry's curiosity.


	8. The SmellyFeet Plant

Chapter 8: The Smelly-Feet Plant

Snape seemed to be taking out his bad mood on Harry in full force during the Defence against the Dark Arts lesson in the afternoon. Snape had taught them the shield spell and had used Harry as a demonstration. He had taken pleasure in flinging Harry across the room, knowing that Harry had yet to master the spell. He only stopped hexing Harry when Harry managed to conjure a greenish translucent smoky barrier between him and Snape and Snape's Jelly-Leg jinx had backfire on himself. That had infuriated Snape further and twenty points were taken off Gryffindor for no apparent reason.

Harry had climbed out of Snape's hot and stuffy dungeon that evening with a badly aching body and perspiration soaked robes.

"Well, at least I'm safe for the rest of this week," he had told the sympathetic faces of Hermione, Ron and Janieve.

Harry was really looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures the next afternoon and then Quidditch tryouts in the evening. He had been named Captain after their previous Captain, Angelina Johnson had left school. There were a few replacement needed to be made. He would need two Chasers to fill in Angelina and Alicia Spinnet's place, and two Beaters to take over Fred and George's. However, he would need to get Divination out of the way first.

Harry wondered why he had bothered to continue his Divination lesson again. Hermione had long since persuaded Ron and Harry to drop it but Harry thought Firenze's taking over of the class would be an improvement from Professor Trelawney's constant prediction of Harry's death. However, Firenze's constant contradiction with his accuracy of reading the future did not make Harry feel that he was putting his time to good use.

"Wonder where Professor Trelawney is?" Ron asked quietly.

"Not really," Harry replied. But Ron had suddenly brought up a matter Harry had not thought much of. It seemed as though Firenze the Centaur was taking over the class permanently, so where had their ex-Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney gone to? She had after all, twice foresee the future incidentally. Surely, Dumbledore would not let such a valuable asset out of his sight? Then, Harry decided that he really did not care.

After listening to the droning voice of Firenze the entire morning, Harry was gratified when the bell rang, signalling the time for lunch. The trio met up with Hermione after her Arithmancy class and decided to go to Hagrid's earlier and have lunch with him.

On the way to their half-giant friend's hut, Harry filled them in on what he had overheard outside Professor Dumbledore's office yesterday.

"You don't reckon he's talking about Professor Winter do you?" asked Hermione, her face scrunched up in serious consideration, "Mind you, I've seen the way Snape looks at her, and it definitely wasn't friendly."

"Well," Ron declared, "I would trust her over Snape any day."

Hermione shot Ron a nasty look and said, "How many times have you suspected Snape of something and how many times have you been proven wrong?"

"How many times must you say that?" Ron shot back.

"Well, that just proves," said Hermione, with a victorious smirk.

"Stop bickering will you?" Harry said irritably as he knocked on Hagrid's hut. Hagrid opened the door, his large built taking up the entire space, but his beady eyes smiled down at them kindly. "Come on in" he said gruffly.

Janieve however, looked frightened by Hagrid's appearance. Harry noticed this and whispered in her ear, "He's as harmless as an oversized sheep."

At that instant, Hagrid noticed Janieve, took her hand in his and said with a smile, "You mus' be Janieve. Dumbledore talks 'lot 'bout you."

Janieve smiled back at him and visibly relaxed. They spent an enjoyable hour chatting with Hagrid and trying, tentatively, Hagrid's self-cooked sponge cake. They decided to help Hagrid towed out the crates of mysterious creatures that he was going to show the class in a while. Harry had a bad feeling about the crates especially when he kept hearing odd squelching sounds coming from within. It appeared as if he was not the only one feeling that way. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, sixth years from Gryffindor had a look of mild terror on their faces.

Hagrid removed the lid to reveal a number of long, brown creatures about two feet long each. There are tiny fine furs sprouting from their otherwise slimy body. Harry could not tell between the heads and tails.

"These're Wrigglers," said Hagrid, when the class had gathered around. "They don't do much 'cept wriggles a few laugh out of yeh. Come 'Arry, yeh show da class wha' they does, won't yeh?" He motioned for Harry to pick up one of the Wrigglers.

Harry reached for one of them when they let out another soft squelching noise. Harry picked it up by two fingers. The brown Wriggler wriggled its way out of Harry's weak grip and slipped into his robes. He felt them moving around his waist and chest as he squirmed with delight. They tickled and writhed around his body and he felt himself giggling uncontrollably.

Hagrid placed a palm on his shoulder and Harry felt him pushing the Wriggler out under the sleeves of his robes and threw it back into the crate. He immediately stopped laughing but felt oddly pleased with himself still.

"These lil things leaves da most depressed person feelin' happier after they've wriggled through yeh clothes," explained Hagrid. "Come," he added happily, "take one of 'em each and have a lil laugh."

The class reached into the crate one by one and picked up a Wriggler each. Everyone began tittering with laughter as the Wrigglers did their magic. By the end of the one and a half hour lesson, the Gryffindors and the Slytherins found themselves walking back up to the castle. Harry and Ron, however, walked to the Quidditch pitch. Hermione and Janieve decided to watch them for a little bit.

Dean and Seamus turned up for the tryout and it did not take long for Harry to realise that they are the best persons to play the Beaters. However, it was taking a really long time for them to decide the Chaser to work with Katie Bell and Ginny. None of them were good enough. Finally, Harry decided to extend the recruitment to next week.

"That was wicked, Harry!" Janieve yelled as she jumped down the stands and ran to Harry's side. "Though I've never seen a Quidditch game before but I already know you're the best seeker in the Wizarding world!"

Her radiant face was beaming at him with excitement as she jumped up and down to greet Harry. "You've gotta teach me to fly!" she added animatedly.

Harry felt another queasy lurch in his stomach as he watched her thick black hair billowing behind her. "Sure I'll teach you," he promised.

"Come on, now," she shouted and grabbed Harry's broom.

Harry however stood staring after her. He was still trying to catch his breath from the hour long flying. "No Janny, I'm too tired. And hungry. I'll teach you tomorrow evening okay?"

Janieve shot him a disappointed look that nearly made him cough back his words and teach her how to fly immediately. He wondered, for the briefest of moment, if she had any Veela blood in her.

"Alright," she said eventually, walking back towards him, "Tomorrow, and no more excuses."

"Deal," he replied. The two of them, together with Hermione, Ron, Dean, Seamus and Katie walked back to the Great Hall for their well-deserved dinner.

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It was Thursday morning and the four of them had free period. Hermione had offered to help Janieve catch up her work by giving her free tutoring. Harry and Ron both decided to stay in the common room to finish up their ever mounting homework.

Hermione was teaching Janieve how to summon all the objects they could find in the common room. Harry and Ron was trying to concentrate on studying for their Transfiguration quiz, which was made doubly hard by the flying objects hitting them on their heads every few minutes. By noon, Janieve had become pretty good with her summoning charm.

It was a lovely afternoon to be out for Herbology. The sun was up, but it was not blazing hot. In fact, it was windy and cool. Their Herbology teacher, Professor Sprout, introduced to them a pot of cactus-like plant called Prodice. They too, had needle sharp leaves, but their leaves, unlike normal cactus, could reach out and prick anyone, if they came too close.

According to Professor Sprouts, however, the powder of these Prodices' needles was very useful in curing stinky feet. They spent an entire afternoon plucking out the needles with a tweezers and when they did, a pungent smell began to fill up the entire greenhouse. Harry wondered unbelievably how these awful smelling needles were going to make their feet smell any better.

"Harry," Ernie McMillan, a boisterous sixth year student from Hufflepuff said conspiratorially, "have you heard? They've taken the Creevey's family. They found the Dark Mark hanging above their house last night. The Creevey brothers had been sent back home early this morning."

Harry looked at Ernie and felt sick. They had taken their family, he thought. What did that mean? Did that mean Voldermort had killed their parents? The Creevey brothers had always been a jovial pair. A little weird, but cheerful alright. He could not imagine how this would change their entire outlook on life.

"Ouch!" he yelped. He had not been careful and one of the Prodice's needles had reached up to prick his finger. He clutched his injure finger with the other hand and hopped around on his toes. There was blood seeping out from a tiny wound from his finger and he wondered if there was blood involved in the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Creevey or if they had just dropped dead from the 'Avada Kedavra' curse. He suddenly felt giddy and his visions blurred and he lost all senses before he dropped to the ground, unconscious.


	9. The Forgotten Date And The Unforgotten H...

Chapter 9: The Forgotten Date And The Unforgotten Hate

_He was climbing the tower. He did not know where he was but he kept climbing the ever winding, never ending stairs. He must have climbed at least ten flights of stairs before he finally reached the top. The view that greeted below was magnificent. It was beyond words. No intricate details and nothing stood out. But there were colours everywhere. And they piece together into a wondrous picture of a city Harry had never been to. Too bad he could not admire the picturesque sight before him. He swivelled around and saw a lump on the floor. It was a woman with wild curly hair bent over her knelt down form, her face hidden._

"_Crucio!" Harry heard himself saying, only he knew that the cold and high-pitched voice could not possibly belong to him. The woman began shaking violently, as if she had spasm, and she screamed in agony._

"_Tell me," he went on, "what did you see?"_

_The woman stopped her quiver and spat, "I will not tell you a thing, you filth." Harry found her voice very familiar but before he could match an owner to that voice, Harry felt someone jerking his arms._

"Harry! HARRY!"

Harry's eyes flew opened and he found five worried faces peering down at him – Hermione, Janieve, Ron, Ernie and Professor Sprout. His scar seered and burned and he grabbed his forehead in pain.

"Mr. Weasley," said Professor Sprout, "could you please accompany Mr. Potter to the Hospital Wing?"

"No! I need to see Professor Dumbledore!" Harry blurted. Hermione and Ron looked on at him uneasily.

"Professor Dumbledore is a busy man," Professor Sprout said sternly, "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey would be more than enough to take care of your finger." Then Harry understood. His teacher must have thought Harry had fainted from the prick on his finger and that he was going to complain to their Headmaster about her.

"No, Professor, you don't under –" Harry said.

"I'll take him, Professor," Hermione interrupted. She grabbed Harry's arm rather forcibly and wrenched him out of the Greenhouse.

"What are you doing, Hermione?" Harry asked angrily. "I need to see Professor Dumbledore!"

"We are," Hermione answered quickly, "That's exactly where we're heading."

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Janieve was pacing the Gryffindor common room that night. Most of the students had gone to bed since it was a school day tomorrow. Janieve, however, was really worried about Harry. He and Hermione had been gone halfway through Herbology and never came back. She and Ron had went to look for them at Hospital Wing but Madam Pomfrey informed them quite impatiently that Harry had never came to look for her.

"Stop doing that," said Ron, "you're making me nervous."

Janieve stopped pacing but immediately went into cracking her knuckles. Finally, at eleven, the Gryffindor common room door flew open. In came a tired looking Harry and serious face Hermione.

"What happened?" asked Ron.

"Where did you go?" asked Janieve at the same time.

Harry and Hermione looked up, surprised to see them there. Harry collapsed onto one of the couch by the fireplace and watched the dying fire dazedly. Hermione just looked between Harry, Ron and Janieve.

"Well, are you going to tell us anything?" Ron pressed.

"We went to see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione responded.

"Did Harry have one of those… visions again?" Ron asked.

"What visions?" Janieve asked in puzzlement.

"Well," Hermione began, but not before shooting a look at Harry first. Harry gave her a slight nod and she continued. "Harry saw Voldermort using the Cruciatus curse on a woman." Ron cringed.

"What you mean Harry saw Voldermort using the whatever curse?" asked Janieve. At this question, Ron and Hermione looked at each other uneasily. Harry, on the other hand, remained gazing stonily in front of him.

"A Cruciatus curse," Hermione said. "It is one of the three unforgivable curses. If used on another human being, the person will feel immense pain. It is also known as the torture curse."

"And… Harry saw…?" Janieve prompted.

Hermione looked to Harry and Harry said, "It's okay. I trust her."

"Well, Harry and Vol…" said Hermione, "No Harry, you should tell her this yourself."

Harry gazed at her, then at Janieve, but said nothing.

"I'm sorry Harry," Hermione said stubbornly, "I know it's hard for you but you need to do this yourself." Then she turned to Ron, "Come on Ronald, let's go to sleep." Ron just gaped at her stupidly so she had to practically tow him up the spiral stairs leading to the boys' dormitories.

Janieve found herself staring at Harry blatantly as he struggled with his words. Finally, Janieve said, "It's okay, Harry. I don't need to know." She would have regretted saying that. Truth was, she wanted to know. She wanted to know everything about Harry. She knew it was probably too soon to feel this but she cared for Harry. But precisely so, she did not want to force Harry into saying things that he did not wish to or was not ready for. And seeing the relief washed over his handsome face, Janieve knew she had done the right thing.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said lightly and headed for the stairs that led to the girls' dormitories.

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The following morning at breakfast, an owl had swoop down on Janieve to deliver her a letter from Harry. He told her that he was sorry for forgetting their Quidditch lesson last night and that he wanted to make it up to her this evening. Meanwhile, Harry was observing her as she read his apology silently. Janieve had to use every ounce of her energy to force down the smile threatening to spill over her face.

"Apologies accepted," she had told him.

"Meet you outside the Gryffindor common room at nine," he had whispered back to her.

And throughout the day, Janieve found it difficult to concentrate on her banishing spells during Professor Flitwick's Charms class.

After dinner, she had gone back to the library to study with Hermione while the boys went for Quidditch practise. At nine sharp, she bid Hermione goodbye outside the Fat Lady's portrait and waited for Harry. Harry came out of the common room shortly with his broom over his shoulder, a yellowed piece of parchment and a thick black cloak.

"Well, can you hold this for me?" Harry asked as he handed his broom to Janieve. He proceeded to unfold the piece of parchment and tapped his wand on it.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he muttered and words started appearing on them. On closer inspection, Janieve realised that it was a map of Hogwarts.

"It's the Marauders' Map, shows where the people are in the castle," Harry explained. "Let's go," he said and he draped the oversized cloak over both of them. They crept quietly out of the castle and found themselves on the Quidditch pitch five minutes later. Harry stuffed the map into his robe pocket and rode his broom.

"Well, get on the broom," Harry said and Janieve positioned herself behind Harry, the cloak still covering them. Harry kicked off into the starry night and Janieve found herself hovering about fifty feet above the ground.

"Merlin's beard," Janieve breathed. They rode higher and higher into the air as the castle of Hogwarts diminished beneath them. Soon, they were sweeping over the trees and past the lake, then back to the pitch. The feeling was indescribable.

"This is amazing," she said, her arms wrapped tightly around Harry.

"I told you I would make it up to you," Harry shouted back to her. They rode for another fifteen minutes, passing through the towers protruding from the castle gracefully. They landed finally onto the pitch, both breathing hard and grinning.

"That was… Wow!" Janieve exclaimed. "Thank you!" Harry's grin broadened.

"My pleasure," he said.

"Well," Janieve said, "I would like to try flying on my own."

Then, Harry tied the cloak around her and told her that it would make her stay invisible as she flew. Then she kicked off into the sky and circled the field for a few rounds until she was no longer frightened by the experience. She dived downwards and her legs buckled a little as she touched the grassy ground. Nevertheless, she felt exhilaration even as they were walking back to the Gryffindor tower.

"Snape is coming this way!" Harry hissed into her ear. They backed away from the corridor and found themselves running up a stairway.

"Wait! Professor Winter is coming down now!" They looked down at the Marauders' Map and found Severus Snape and Florence Winter closing in on the two of them from both sides, with no escape route in sight. They pressed themselves against the wall and covered themselves with the Invisibility Cloak. Snape and Winter met on the stairway that Harry and Janieve stood.

"Severus," said Professor Winter.

"Florence," replied Snape in a less friendly tone.

"I've never got the chance to speak to you ever since my return to Hogwarts," she said.

"I have nothing to say to you," Snape replied coldly.

"You do remember everything, don't you?" she asked. "You always blame people and never forgive anyone, don't you?"

"I said, I have nothing to say to you," Snape said through gritted teeth.

Winter studied him for a long moment before she said, "As you wish, Severus. Good night."

"Good night," Snape responded coldly. They stepped past each other and continued on their way to where they had intended to go. When Harry and Janieve thought it was finally safe, they quickly went back to the Gryffindor Tower, constantly checking the Marauders' Map.

"Jumping Ferrets," Harry said to the Fat Lady. The Fat Lady opened the door for them drowsily. They climbed through the hole, grateful to be back without getting caught. Exhaustion overtook them and they just collapsed onto the couch and slept fitfully under the Invisibility Cloak.


	10. Weasleys' Wizards Wheezers

Chapter 10: Weasleys Wizards Wheezes

"The issue here is not about him, Ron. The issue is about you. If you like her, then you've got to tell her that."

"I don't like her, Ginny."

"Right, keep denying and you'll be receiving their wedding invitation soon."

Harry felt someone sat on his ankles. "Yeow!" the person shouted. Harry removed his Invisibility Cloak and saw Ron and Ginny staring down at him.

"Harry you gave me a shock!" exclaimed Ginny. Ron was staring down at him with a wicked smile on his face. Harry realised that Janieve was lying on top of him, her face buried in his chest. She was still snoring softly despite the commotion.

"Sorry," Harry apologised, "fell asleep."

"So are you going to join us for breakfast?" Ron asked.

Harry looked down his chest at Janieve. "Nah, I think I'll let her sleep. We came back quite late last night." At this Ron shot Harry another cheeky look. Harry hoped he was not blushing too obviously.

"We'll bring something up for you," offered Ginny. She was grinning so widely Harry was sure she could stuff a whole hamburger into her mouth without any problem.

"Thanks," Harry mumbled after their retreating form. Harry watched the thin frame of Janieve rise and fall as she breathed in and out. He could not resist himself from reaching out a hand to play with a tuft of her soft silky hair. He twirled them between his fingers mindlessly.

"Mmm…" she murmured. Harry's hand froze in midair; Janieve's hair slipped from it and fell back to her head.

"Mornin' 'Arry," she mumbled sleepily.

"Morning Jan," replied Harry.

Janieve rolled herself off Harry and dropped to the floor. "Ouch…" she grumbled.

Harry felt pins and needles throughout his shoulders, arms, torso, as blood began pumping through them. He sat up and helped Janieve up beside him. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah," she answered. "I'm sorry I fell asleep on you," she added when she saw Harry rubbing his arms and thighs.

"I'm not," Harry said. Her eyes widened in surprise at his boldness and Harry felt his cheeks burn with shame. There was a long moment of awkward silence. Harry began fidgeting with the hem of his robes.

"Yeah you're right," she joked, "You should be honoured." Both of them laughed. "That's my way of thanking you for last night," she added. Then, Harry started a conversation about Quidditch and Harry began teaching her the rules of the game and also told her about Viktor Krum's Wronski Feint at the Quidditch World Cup two years ago. Their talk drifted over to Hermione and Ron at the mention of Viktor.

"Well, I always knew Ron had a thing for Hermione," said Janieve proudly.

"I do hope he ask her out soon," Harry said thoughtfully, "I don't know how much more of their bickering I can take."

"Whose bickering?" Hermione asked as she, Ron and Ginny climbed back through the portrait hole into the common room. Ginny handed a brown bag to Janieve.

"Croissant!" Janieve squealed in delight.

"Er, nobody," Harry replied. Hermione eyed him suspiciously.

"Harry, we're going to visit Fred and George's joke shop in Hogsmeade. Do you want to come?" Ron asked.

"Sure," said Harry, "Jan?"

Jan looked up, her face stuffed with bread, "Ohay," she said.

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"You don't think they would need us to try any more of their inventions, do you?" Ron asked fearfully to Harry and Janieve. Hermione and Ginny were engaged in their own conversation behind them.

"I hope so," Janieve looked delighted at the thought.

"Don't tell me you actually enjoy being their guinea pig?" Ron asked, incredulous.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Janieve said loyally.

"Mate, I think she's off her rocker," Ron told Harry which prompted Janieve to knock Ron on the head. However, Ron was too tall for her she ended up on tiptoes and losing her balance. She fell onto Ron and both of them crashed into a group of street musicians, sending trumpets and flute into the air.

Harry clutched his ribs and laughed manically. "She should be banned from the streets!" Ron yelled indignantly as the two tried to disentangle themselves from the mess. "Oww, she bit me!" came Ron's muffled scream.

Ginny and Hermione caught up with them. By this time, they were already making a total spectacle of themselves. Ginny was laughing along with Harry but Hermione had an angry look on her face.

"Ronald!" she said sharply, "What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Finally Janieve and Ron emerged from the mess with snow in their hair. This prompted more fits of laughter from Harry and Ginny and Hermione's lips made the slightest of a twitch.

"Hey it's not fair! She's the one who's gone crazy," Ron protested. Janieve made a lunge for him again but he quickly jumped out of the way. Instead Harry caught her.

"You're a hazard you know that?" Harry teased affectionately. Janieve smiled giddily up at him which made his heart flutter.

Meanwhile, Hermione was apologising to the group of angry musicians and shooting Ron dirty looks. They managed to pry themselves away from the musicians and got to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes without getting into anymore trouble.

Harry could tell that their opening was a success from the crowd they had in the store. It was packed with wizards and witches of all ages and the queue for cashier extended all the way to the shop's exit.

"Oye guys!" yelled Fred, who was manning the cashier. George was spotted at the back of the shop, explaining one of their products to a potential customer. They walked over to Fred.

"Oye Fred, business doing well huh?" commented Janieve.

"Pretty well," he confirmed. "This is only the first weekend. I think we need to start hiring."

Janieve, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione decided to stay around and help out. The crowd finally subsided at four in the afternoon.

"We want to thank you Harry," said George uncharacteristically when there were only about three customers left in the shop. "If it wasn't for your money, this wouldn't have been such a success."

"It's your talent that made this a success," Harry disagreed.

"Well, if it wasn't for your…" Fred let his voice trailed off when Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Janieve joined them when the last customer had left.

"Anyway, we're really lucky to have any business at all," said George.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because everyone's afraid to leave their house now they know that you-know-who's back," replied Fred.

"But he wouldn't dare to do anything in Hogsmeade, would he?" asked Ginny. "There are so many overage wizards around."

"You have no idea Ginny," confided George, "The barman at the Hog's Head went missing two days ago. No one knows what happened to him but Fred and I reckon that it has something to do with you-know-who?"

"What makes you think it was Volder –" Harry began. The Weasleys cringed. "Sorry," Harry continued, "What makes you think it was you-know-who who was behind it?"

"The barman just disappeared without a trace. Nobody knows where he went. And you know the people who visit the Hog's Head," said Fred.

Harry knew the type of people that visit the Hog's Head, the bar in Hogsmeade other than The Three Broomstick. It's a dingy pub that attracts weird wizards and witches. Harry wouldn't be surprised if it's a favourite hangout place for the dark wizards.

"So why would you-know-who want the barman for?" asked Janieve. "Surely he's not a muggle-born wizard?" A dark look crossed her delicate features.

"No idea," said Fred. "We don't even know his name. Keeps to himself all the time. He was the only one who didn't come to our opening – the other shopkeepers in Hogsmeade did."

"I think it's about time we leave," said Hermione, who was checking her watch, "it's getting late."

The five of them said good bye to Fred and George and walked briskly back to the Hogwarts castle. Harry was not talking, instead, he was thinking about what the twins had told them earlier on. He had met the Hog's Head barman once when he and Hermione had their first secret DA meeting, and the barman was an old wizard who looked vaguely familiar to Harry. However, up to that point, Harry could not put his finger on where he had seen him.

They trudged up the stone path that leads to Hogwarts, the night falling in on them quickly. If Harry had not had so much on his mind, he would have noticed that everyone else too, was not talking and appeared to be deep in thought like he was.


	11. The Water Elemental

Chapter 11: The Water Elemental

It was the second Friday since the start of school. Harry and his Gryffindor Quidditch team mates had decided to let Janieve play Chaser for them. She did not think she was extraordinarily good, but she was passable. Harry had told her she was showing alarming talent in flying for someone who had never heard of Quidditch barely three weeks ago.

"Guys! _Guys!_" Harry yelled. Janieve caught the Quaffle that Katie threw to her and turned to Harry. "That's all for today! You guys are doing great!"

They flew back to the pitch and alighted from their broom. Janieve had borrowed hers from Madam Hooch. She raised her arm and wiped the perspiration off her forehead with the back of her hand. She was dying to get into the showers.

"I'm hitting the showers!" she announced and headed for the changing room.

"I'm with you," said Ginny, as she hurried after Janieve.

Janieve stepped into one of the cubicles and stripped out of her clothes in one instant. She hit the knobs and cool soothing water cascaded down her smooth creamy shoulders, her hair doused. She stood there with her face towards the shower, her eyes closed, her mind relaxed. The water was icy but it was comfortable on her sunburnt skin.

"Hello."

Janieve snapped her black wary eyes open. There was no one in the shower. Still, she could not shake the feeling of being watched from her.

"Hey!"

She spun around at the high-pitched, sugary dripped voice. To her astonishment, she saw a tiny creature… No, not creature. It was just water – water in the shape of a… a fairy? Or was it a butterfly? She could not make up her mind.

"I am Melody," said the creature in her girlish voice.

"What are you?" Janieve asked fearfully. The creature merely looked at Janieve with amusement in her transparent eyes.

"The Water Fairy," she replied, "I'm surprised you did not figure that out. You are the slowest Water Elemental I've had the fortune to come across."

"What are you talking about?" Janieve questioned in a hostile tone.

"Good Lord, you really are slow, aren't you?" The Water Fairy exclaimed.

"Well, care to make yourself clearer then?" Janieve asked blatantly.

The Water Fairy sighed dramatically. Janieve was surprised that she could even make any noise at all, with the type of molecules she was made up of.

"The Water Elemental is the Dictator of the Water Element. In other words, he or she is able to control all types of water… Well, nearly all. The power to command does not come to Elementals easily, but if they practised enough, they will be able to make the Element they have an innate ownership over, obey them. However, not everyone is an Elemental. They are born, not made."

Janieve gaped at the transparent, floating fairy before her. "Are you telling me I'm an Elemental?"

"A Water Elemental to be exact. You can only control water. Fire Elementals can control the fire while Air Elemental can control the air and so on and so forth. Well, you get the point," she explained.

Janieve continued to gape at her.

The Water Fairy spoke up again. "Haven't you found that you have this special connection with water? How many years has it been? It took you long enough to see it."

"You're crazy," Janieve stated. "No, I'm crazy," she corrected herself. "I'm crazy and I'm hallucinating."

"Maybe I am," the Fairy replied, "but you're definitely not crazy. You're just living in denial."

Janieve turned the knob off and the water stopped running. She watched the Fairy disappeared into droplets of water as they fell onto the tiled floor and seeped into the open drain. Janieve dried herself up quickly, changed into new, clean clothes and exited the changing room quickly.

"You sure took your time," commented Harry. He was sitting on the benches outside the ladies changing room.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Waiting for you. Ginny ran off with Dean so I thought I would wait for you," Harry answered. They shouldered their brooms and gym bag and headed across the pitch back to the castle.

"Harry…" Janieve considered telling Harry about what she had seen in the showers but thought the better of it.

"Yeah?" he asked mindlessly.

"I think we should walk faster, I'm famished," she lied. Harry would probably think she was a raving lunatic if she had told him about the Water Fairy. Experience from her old life taught her never to reveal too much of herself to other people, not even her friends, or she may find herself with her guard down, judged, betrayed, and hurt.

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"I want you to be in pairs and take turns to transfigure each other. You'll picture the animal that you want to transform your partner into in your mind and read the incantation I just taught you," called Professor McGonagall.

Harry had paired up with Ron, while Hermione with Janieve. Harry had his wand ready and pointed it at Ron, whose eyes were so wide they were almost popping out of their sockets.

"Anything but a ferret, Harry," he said. Harry just grinned at him evilly.

The class murmured the incantation incoherently.

Ron turned into a parrot with red feathers.

"Merlin's…" said the parrot.

Harry looked at Janieve who had just been turned into a beautiful black mare by Hermione. The horse was tuttering and Hermione was stroking her long black hair admiringly.

"Well done, Miss Granger!" said Professor McGonagall and Hermione beamed at her generous remark.

After Harry and Hermione had un-transfigured Ron and Janieve, Hermione was transformed into a furry brown cat that looks uncannily like Crookshanks by Janieve while Harry was transformed into a dog with human body by Ron. The cat looked at the half-transformed Harry distastefully and hissed at Ron intermittently.

Harry reached up his hands and felt his face. He nearly recoiled at the length of his jaw and his sharp grazing teeth. It felt weird to have a hound's face sitting on his head.

After gales of laughter coming from the class which was mainly contributed by Janieve, Harry felt his head contracted and his own face replaced the dog.

"That was interesting, wasn't it? Human transfiguration," commented Hermione after their Transfiguration class. The four of them were heading towards the Great Hall for dinner.

"That's only for you," retorted Ron, "I bet you'll be the only one who'll pass this class."

"Well, Harry and Jan did a good job too, didn't they?" argued Hermione. Then she added nastily, "if there's anyone who'll fail, it'll be you."

Ron's ear turned pink. "Well, I don't recall Krum doing a good job either during the Triwizard Tournament," he snapped.

"Well, it's easy to transfigure someone into a dog than into a shark since dog and human are both mammals," reminded Hermione.

"I'm only sixteen, Hermione! He was eighteen!" Ron yelled angrily.

"Whatever, Ronald!" Hermione shot back, her temper flared.

But Ron did not look like he was about to let up. "Right, nothing I do is good enough compared to Krum. He's young but he's already an aspiring Quidditch star player whilst I'm just a nobody who can't even jinx anyone properly."

"In case you forgot, Ronald Weasley, you were the one who brought Viktor up in the first place," said Hermione angrily. Then she turned to Harry and Janieve who were watching their exchange tentatively and said, "Guys, I don't really feel so hungry. I think I'm going to skip dinner." She strode away quickly before they had any chance to reply.

"What's her problem?" Ron muttered and Harry shrugged though he knew exactly what her problem was. He was not about to tell Ron that though. Ron should figure that out by himself.

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Harry woke up in the morning, feeling an adrenaline rush pumping through his veins. It had been two weeks since the quarrel between Hermione and Ron. They had made up after a week of cold war. Ron was the one who made the first move because he need some help with his Potions essay.

Ron and Harry were dressed in their Quidditch robes, their broomsticks slung over their shoulder as they walked down the Gryffindor Tower to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"I wonder what anti-Gryffindor cheer the Slytherins have come up with this year," thought Harry aloud. He immediately regretted his slip of the tongue upon seeing Ron's horrified face.

"You don't think they are going to do the 'Weasley is our King' cheer, do you?" Ron asked apprehensively.

"No of course not," Harry assured quickly, "Last year you've already shown them who's King in the match against Ravenclaw. I doubt they would be stupid enough to use the same song."

Ron looked visibly more relieved from hearing Harry's words. They reached the boisterous Great Hall and joined Dean, Seamus, Ginny, Katie, Neville, Hermione and Janieve at the Gryffindor table.

"Hey guys! Ready for the big day?" asked a keyed up Janieve. Harry took a seat beside her when Ron replied her.

"I wished."

"What's wrong Ron?" asked a concerned Hermione.

"Other than the fact that I'm not going to save a thing and be made a sport of by the Slytherins? Nothing's wrong, really." He said dejectedly.

Janieve gave Harry a weird look but Harry shrugged it off. He suddenly felt nervous by the way Ron was acting. He knew better than anyone else that when Ron feels unconfident about something, he would most likely screw up his performance. He suddenly saw the need to persuade Ron to believe that he is an excellent keeper before the Quidditch match start in about an hours' time.

"Ron," Harry said impatiently, not quite the tone he had wanted to project, but he could not help himself, "you will do great. Now is your time to show me and Hermione what we missed out on last year when you kicked Ravenclaw's ass."

"I guess," said Ron, still not quite convinced. But he decided to keep his mouth shut when he saw Harry's tense expression.

"You know, I think we'd better get going to do some warm ups," said Dean when Harry put his last piece of waffle into his mouth. The Quidditch team murmured their agreement as they got up and bid Hermione and Neville goodbye.

They walked out onto the pitch, the air chilly from the late October wind. In fact, the wind was so strong that Harry could actually hear it howling. They found an unoccupied spot on the field, dropped their broomstick, and began their warming up. Harry felt like he had waited for this moment his entire lifetime. After being banned from Quidditch by Umbridge last year, he had been itching to be back soaring in sky in front of a thousand spectators again. He had to admit that some types of attention are still enjoyable.

A whistle blew and the Gryffindor players stopped their warming-up and walked single filed up to Madam Hooch, their referee. Harry saw the Slytherins already waiting for them near Madam Hooch. _No crown batches, _Harry thought and he breathe a sigh of relief. But it was short-lived for he reminded himself that the Slytherins always managed to come up with something mean year after year.

"Captains, shake hands!" ordered Madam Hooch. Both Harry and Draco Malfoy glared at each other as they reached for each others' hands. They did not shake it but just held it there, their eyes transfixed on each other with an unspoken dare. _It is time,_ Harry thought.

The whistle blew and all fourteen players kicked off the ground and took their places in the sky. Another whistle blew and the game began. Harry hovered around in his position and scout for any signs of the golden snitch. When he did not catch sight of anything golden, he circled the field. He spied on Malfoy but he too appeared not to know where the snitch was.

He got bored looking for the absent snitch and started watching the match below while looking for the snitch unenthusiastically. He saw that Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be on a deadly mission to knock all the Gryffindor players off their brooms. They were hitting bludgers everywhere and once, it narrowly missed Ginny's face. A slytherin chaser that Harry recognised by face had the quaffle in his hand and was heading straight for Ron. He dived towards the left but immediately throw to Marcus Mith, a fifth year from Slytherin from behind who caught it and headed straight for the right hoop. However, Ron was too quick for their trick and dived right just in time to hit the quaffle away with his fingertips. Harry let out a quiet cheer for Ron.

Harry wondered what the score was now. He was too far on top to hear the new commentator taking after Lee Jordan. Ginny was now in possession of the quaffle and she passed it to Janieve who was flying straight for the goal post. She was moving so quickly that all Harry could make out of her was her black hair flowing behind her. And that was when he spotted the snitch. It was just a few feet from where Janieve was seconds ago and it was staying quite still there.

He sneaked a glance at Malfoy and saw that he too spotted the snitch. However, Harry who was almost vertically above the snitch was nearer and hence, had an advantage. He wasted no time and immediately made a dive for the snitch.

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"And Weasley has the Quaffle now. She is such a promising chaser I tell you. She is zooming in for the goalpost now… and she scores! This is her twelve out of the twenty-one goals Gryffindor had earned tonight. This is definitely one of the best batches of players for Gryffindor…And Barlow has the Quaffle now. Nice fake but a great save by Ron Weasley!" Janieve heard the commentator saying. The commentator sounded biased to her but it suited her just fine.

Ginny passed her the quaffle and she headed straight for the goal post but dropped it purposefully a few feet below before turning a hundred eighty degree around. Her legs were circled around her broom while her hands reaching for the quaffle again and she threw it towards the left ring. This caught the Slytherin keeper by surprise and he was too stunned to block it.

Janieve let out a triumphant cheer still dangling upside down. She tried to swerve her body over but suddenly all she felt was a sharp pain on the back of her head. There was a loud cheer erupting from the stands while she plunged fifty feet down onto the pitch.


	12. Girls and their unfathomable minds

Chapter 12: Girls and their unfathomable mind

Harry was very near the snitch now. Three feet... Two feet… One foot… and he reached out his hand for the golden thing that's worth a hundred fifty points for his house. He can feel Draco Malfoy hot on his tail but he was too late. Harry already felt his fingers close around the fluttering snitch. The crowd let out a loud cheer as he grinned smugly at the crowd.

He looked down at his team mates but what he saw made his blood froze. A bludger hit Janieve at the back of her head and she released her grip on the broom. She was falling fifty feet off her broom, heading straight for the ground and the crowd screamed in horror. Harry made a move towards her but he was too late. She had hit the ground with a loud sickening thud.

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Harry watched as Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, forced open the mouth of an unconscious Janieve and poured a gurgling black liquid down her throat. Then, Madam Pomfrey left Harry to Janieve while muttering about why she thinks the school should let the students play a healthier sport.

Janieve stirred.

"Janny!"

Her eyes fluttered open and Harry had never been more relieved in his entire life. Except the time when he found out that Hermione was not dead after an unknown spell had hit her by the Death Eaters last year in the Ministry of Magic building.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as she began coughing dryly.

"My throat hurts. It feels like it's on fire," she said hoarsely.

"I think it's the medicine Madam Pomfrey gave you," said Harry.

"JAN!"

Harry turned to see Hermione and Ron running towards them.

"Jan, are you okay?" asked Hermione fretfully.

"I'm fine," Jan replied, "what happened?"

"It was Goyle. He hit you even when Harry had gotten the snitch. He did it on purpose," said an irate Ron.

"Thank goodness you're okay. You fell like what, fifty feet from the ground?" commented Hermione.

"Goyle should be thankful you're okay," said Harry angrily, "or he'll wish he was never born."

"It's okay Harry. I'm just glad we won," said Janieve. Harry smiled at her.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Glad to see you're okay now," she said. Then, she turned to Harry. "Uh Harry, I think Ron and I will make a move first. We still have uh some unfinished business," said Hermione. Ron looked baffled as Hermione dragged him out without waiting for Harry's reply.

"What do you think they are up to? Do you think they are dating?" asked Janieve, her eyes closed.

"I don't know," replied Harry, "but I hope they are. It's about bloody time."

"It's nice isn't it? To be with the one you love and who loves you." Janieve asked.

She must be thinking about her boyfriend, Harry thought.

"Have you ever dated anyone?" Janieve asked.

"Er," said Harry, "Well, kind of."

"Who?" she asked, her eyes still close.

"Cho Chang," Harry answered awkwardly. Why are they talking about this?

"The Ravenclaw seeker?" Janieve probed.

Harry nodded then realising that Janieve still had her eyes closed, said, "Yeah."

"Do you still like her?" she questioned.

"Er no," said Harry.

Janieve snapped her eyes open and stared at Harry blatantly. Harry suddenly found his shoes to be extremely fascinating. This line of questioning was getting weirder and weirder.

"I like you," Janieve confessed boldly.

Harry sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. What? Did she just say what he thought she said? She likes him? Perhaps he hadn't been clearing his ear wax for sometime and it was impairing his hearing. Firstly, what would a beautiful girl like her see in him? Secondly, why had she suddenly told him that? However, he reminded himself that he had not understood what Cho had seen in him last year too.

So what should he do now? Should he tell her that he likes her too? Did he even like her? She was fun to be with – really funny and beautiful. But did he really want to date her? He wasn't really into the going out and holding hands kind of thing after the disaster he had with Cho last year. But then again, Janieve was very unlike Cho. Janieve was headstrong and independent while Cho cried at every little thing. He could really see himself happy with Janieve. In fact, that thought had more than once crossed his mind but he had merely pushed them to the back of his head. I will ask, he decided.

"Willyoubemygirlfriend?" he asked in one breath. Janieve just stared at him like he had sprouted antlers on his back.

"Forget it Harry," she said in the end.

"What?" Harry asked, totally lost.

"I said forget it. Just leave okay?" Janieve said.

"But what- what did I do?" Harry asked, astounded. What was she talking about? Did she not want to be his girlfriend? Didn't she just told him she like him? Isn't this what she wanted?

"Nothing. Just leave me alone for awhile please?" she said frigidly.

Harry left the Hospital Wing feeling off. It felt like he had waited for this moment to arrive for such a long time and when it did, he screwed it up big time. When he reached the common room, he saw that nearly all of the Gryffindors are there. Hermione and Ron were sitting on the best seats by the fireplace. He crossed over lying bodies to reach his friends.

"So Harry, how did it go?" Hermione asked when he sat down beside them.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked suspiciously. He suddenly had a good hunch what 'unfinished business' Hermione was talking about.

"Don't tell me you didn't ask her! You can't be that dense!" cried Hermione.

"I did," he said quietly.

"You did…wait, you did! Oh Merlin's beard! Harry what did she say?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"She said no," Harry replied dejectedly. And then he told them what exactly happened after they had left. When he had finished, Hermione's face had turned from incredulous to something like a 'that figures' look.

"She told you she liked you first?" said Ron, who looked really impressed.

"God Harry. You have utterly no clue with girls. You too, Ron. Both of you!" Hermione said at the same time.

"What? Me? What has that got to do with me?" protested a flabbergasted Ron. "Girls!" he finished lamely.

Hermione ignored him. "Look Harry, you can't just wait for a girl to open her mouth to say she likes you and then you asked her to be your girlfriend without even telling her whether you reciprocate her feelings," she said seriously.

"Why not?" Ron asked for Harry.

"Because," Hermione said pointedly, like it was something as simple as putting food in her mouth, "she would think you didn't mean what you said!"

"But why would I asked her if I hadn't meant what I said," argued Harry.

"Because that's just how the mind of a girl works," Hermione replied. "I think you owe her both an explanation and an apology," added Hermione bossily.

"But I…" Harry began to object but Hermione cut him out. "Look Harry, if she is important to you, you'll do it."

Harry knew Hermione had struck a nerve. Janieve was indeed important to him. But he had no idea what he was supposed to apologise for, how was he going to pull this off? _Ron was right,_ Harry thought miserably, _girls are truly unfathomable._

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"Harry, where are we going?" Janieve asked while trying to wrench her arm free from Harry's strangled grip. It was the second evening since her admittance to the Hospital Wing and Harry had suddenly appeared and dragged her out of there.

"You'll see," he said mysteriously. He was guiding her through corridors after corridors, his invisibility cloak tucked under his arms, which when Janieve had asked about, Harry had replied, "just in case."

They climbed up flights after flights of stairs, which Janieve lost count after the fifth. Finally they reached a sparse empty area. Harry released his hold on Janieve and began pacing the length of a stretch of blank wall opposite an enormous tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy's foolish attempt to train trolls for the ballet. A look of concentration crossed Harry's face. To Janieve's amazement, a door appeared on the far end of the wall ten seconds later.

Harry stopped pacing and looked up, a satisfied smile on his face. "Come on, let go," he said, and led a perplexed Janieve towards the door.


	13. Room of Requirement

Chapter 13: Room of Requirement

Janieve's jaw dropped as she surveyed the room. It was dimly lit with four burning torches at each corner of the room. Sitting in the middle of the room was an oak square table with dining ware carefully laid out on top. A burning candle stood brightly on the centre of the table. Two matching oak chairs, with red cushioning, were placed adjacent to the table. Rose petals were scattered across the parquet floor and the room smell of perfume. It was like a scene out of a romantic movie.

"This is beautiful!" Janieve said breathlessly.

"Well, yeah, this is better than I had hoped for," said Harry sheepishly.

Janieve tilted her head sideways so she was looking at Harry. "Didn't you decorate this?"

Harry laughed lightly. "No, this is the room of requirement. It gives you a place to fulfil your purpose as long as you think hard of your purpose before you enter."

"I see… Well, what are we waiting for? I'm famished!" she declared.

Harry followed as Janieve skipped up to their seats.

When they were both seated, they stared at the empty space on the table in front of them. Harry looked at Janieve awkwardly. "This should work," he said. "I would like a…"

A plate of sirloin steak appeared before Harry. Soon, food began appearing on their table as they each thought up of all the delicacies they would like to have. Two hours later, they were polishing up their dessert in contentment.

"Mmm hmm…" Janieve said.

"Mmm hmm is the word," Harry said and they both laughed.

"Look Janny, I want to apologise for what happened yesterday," Harry began. "I should have told you how I felt first before throwing that question at you."

Janieve looked down at her hands, which were clasped and placed atop the table.

"But that does not mean I did not mean what I ask," he continued, "I just… I didn't know how to explain what I really feel for you. I…"

Janieve placed a finger on his lips and said, "It's okay."

"No, it's not," he said firmly but she placed a hand on top of his and cut him out.

"Yes, it is. And I don't need you to say it. I just needed to know you feel it. And I already know you do."

Their eyes locked for a moment before Harry broke the spell. "What shall we do now?" he wondered aloud.

"I'm feeling kind of sleepy after all the stuffing –" she trailed off when a gigantic couch appeared in the corner of the room. "This room is amazing!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Harry chuckled as they threw themselves on top of the soft, fluffy couch which enveloped them upon contact.

"Indeed it is," he replied. Then, he started telling her all about the story of Umbridge, their last DATDA teacher and her evil doings and how they came up with their own DATDA class in the room of requirement without Umbridge's knowledge, and how Harry was appointed the leader of the group. He told her how it had been one of the happiest moments in his life and Janieve commented on how easy it was to please Harry.

They moved on to talk about Janieve's life when she was a muggle, the things that made her happy and the things she used to do. Janieve was disgusted when Harry told her about how the Dursley had treated him the past fifteen years.

"Harry, how did your parents die?" Janieve asked. Harry blinked at her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that," she said.

"It's okay," Harry said, "Voldermort killed them while he was trying to kill me."

To Harry's surprise, Janieve merely nodded. "I guessed as much," she said. Then, upon seeing Harry's puzzled face, she added, "Remember what you told me the night after my parents were killed? I sort of figured it out from there."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, our life story is so alike it frightened me at that time."

"Were you rescued by the Order too?" she asked.

"No. No one knows how but the spell that Voldermort wanted to kill me with kind of rebounded back on him. The only harm he managed to inflict on me was this scar on my forehead.

Janieve reached up and traced his scar tenderly. She snuggled up closer to him and he could smell her intoxicating shampoo. They laid there quietly, both lost in their thoughts.

Finally, at a little past midnight, Harry heard Janieve's first soft snoring as her head lolled sideways and fell onto Harry's lap. Harry positioned himself gently so that he was more comfortable before he too, fell into a deep peaceful sleep.

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"Look what we've got here?" came a drawling voice. "A mudblood, a scarhead, a weaselby, and… Merlin's, another mudblood!"

Harry, Ron, Janieve and Hermione spun around and came face to face with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Malfoy," Harry spat.

"Scarhead, your scar throbbing again?" sneered Malfoy. "Ouch, they're pricking me again. Everyone please look at me! Please give me all the attention or the scar will never stop pricking!"

Janieve felt a hatred she had never felt before towards this Draco Malfoy. She pulled her wand out of her robe but Malfoy was quicker than her. In a blink of an eye, she was flung three feet down the corridor.

"Jan!" Harry, Hermione and Ron ran towards her as she tried to pick herself up. The tail of her spine hurt from the impact of the fall. Harry took out his wand and made to charge towards Malfoy but Hermione held him back.

"No Harry! He's not worth it!" she shouted.

"Now tell me Potter, why aren't you revenging your little girlfriend?" Malfoy smirked. "Are you afraid of me, now that my father is out of Azkaban?" He, Crabbe and Goyle cackled loudly.

It was the most awful laughter Janieve had ever heard. It sounded almost forceful. Thankfully their laughter did not last as Hermione, Ron and Harry started jinxing them with a spell each.

Draco Malfoy was flung a good ten feet away and hit the end of the wall. Crabbe fell to the ground with his legs split opened. Goyle was dancing around in circles, on tiptoes.

The four of them hi-five each other and as they walked away, Janieve called back over her shoulder, "This should teach you not to mess with a mudblood, scarhead, weaselby and, oh, another mudblood." This ignited more laughter from Ron, Hermione and Harry.

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"I wished Malfoy would provoke us everyday," Janieve said to them over dinner that night. "It would be good fun."

"Doesn't your butt hurt?" Harry asked.

"It was worth it," Janieve said with a grin. "Anyway, what are you guys doing tonight? Since Quidditch practise has been called off." She asked.

Ron, Hermione and Harry suddenly looked uneasy. They shot each other furtive looks but none of them answered her. Janieve caught on immediately.

"You guys are going somewhere that you can't tell me, much less include me?" Janieve guessed.

"Janny…" Harry began but one look at their faces and she knew she was right.

"It's okay," she said, and forced a smile to her face. "I think I need to work on my Dark Arts essay anyway." Professor Snape had made her write a five feet long essay when every one else is writing a two feet long one all because she had groaned aloud when Snape announced the homework.

Janieve was walking alone back to the Gryffindor common room after dinner. Her head was down as she wondered what the trio could be up to. She had bit back a longing to call after them, to beg them to take her along as she watched their retreating figures after they bid her goodbye.

Janieve had too much pride in her. She knew when she was not wanted. But she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, and perhaps a little hurt too. She had thought they had accepted her friendship but apparently she had been wrong.

"They had been friends for five years. What do you expect? You only knew them less than four months including those at Grimmauld Place," she chided herself softly.

But she thought she had grown closer to Harry more than anyone else over this period of time. Harry, she thought suddenly, he is my boyfriend now isn't he? So what does it that he had not want her to be there?

Janieve shook her head as she turned yet another corner. Harry and she had spent nearly every night in the room of requirement chatting until they fell asleep. Although he had told her a great deal about his past, she still felt that there was so much more to Harry that she did not know of. And that was one of the factors that drew Janieve to him. She could tell he had been through a lot more than most people his age yet he had not wallowed in self-pity or scorned the world. On the other hand, he had embraced all that had been thrown his way and remained strong.

Janieve looked up and found herself in an unfamiliar stairway. _Great, now I've lost my way._ She turned around and found herself in a small circular room of foreign object, panic rising from the pit of her stomach. She realised that she had never walked around Hogwarts without any of her friends. There were two exits – two long stretch of corridors laid in front of her, one on the left and the other on the right. _Which way did I come from?_ She racked her brain and finally she chose the one on the right.


	14. The Suicide Mission

Chapter 14: The Suicide Mission

"I think we should have asked her along," Hermione said, as the trio approached Hagrid's cabin.

"Are you crazy? We can't tell anyone about Grawp!" Ron yelled.

Hermione cringed at his voice. "Keep it down, Ron!" she hissed.

"We can't tell her. It's bad enough that the three of us are on a suicide mission. We can't allow another victim." Harry stated.

"We are not going to die," Hermione said unconvincingly.

"Either way, we're not going to put her into danger," Harry said protectively.

"So it doesn't matter that she's upset with us now and probably bawling her heart out in the dormitory wondering why we hadn't included her?" Hermione asked.

"She wasn't angry," said Ron.

"Was she?" Harry asked quickly.

"Boys," was all Hermione said and she shook her head. They walked past Hagrid's cabin and into the Forbidden Forest.

"I'd rather she be upset with us but safe up in Gryffindor tower," said Harry conclusively.

"Honestly Harry, you need to stop being so protective over your friends," Hermione reproached.

"If I had been more protective, my friends wouldn't have been in mortal peril last year in the Ministry of Magic building," muttered Harry.

They trudged through the forest, jumping over tall roots and swiping at low-hanging branches as they made their way towards the clearing where Hagrid had kept his half-brother, Grawp.

"Can someone remind me what we're doing here late at night?" Ron asked grudgingly.

"Because we promised Hagrid to teach his miniscule Giant half-brother English," came Hermione's fearful reply.

"Thanks for the reality check, Hermy," Ron said sarcastically.

"What are you doing here?"

Hermione, Ron, and Harry turned at the voice. A good dozen of centaurs appeared behind the shadow of trees and closed in on them.

"It's you," said a chestnut coloured centaur that Harry and Hermione recognised as Magorian. "We let you go the last time and here you are crossing our territory again."

"Please, we are only here to visit Grawp," said Hermione pleadingly.

"You think we care about your purpose of coming? Human." He spat.

"Sorry but we don't think we need your permission to visit our friend do we?" said Ron, who obviously had not seen the wrath of Centaurs, much less know the way to talk to them.

"Arrogance!" shouted Bane, a black centaur. The eleven other centaurs roared their approval.

"We must teach them a lesson," shouted a grey one and the rest held up their bow and arrow at once.

Harry felt Hermione's hands gripping him tightly and Ron was letting out some kind of weird noise beside him.

"Please forgive us for our ignorance, my friends here and I…" Harry started but stopped in horror as he saw Ron took out his wand and pointed them at the centaurs.

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Janieve kicked herself mentally for getting herself in such a predicament. When she realised that she had made the wrong move by choosing the right exit, she had tried to find her way back the odd circular room. However, she only succeeded in getting herself more lost than ever.

"Janieve Walker, we wouldn't have been stuck here if you hadn't been so too damn proud to ask Harry to bring you along to their secret outing," she talked loudly to herself. _No wait, it was your friends' fault. If they had trusted you enough to let you in, you wouldn't be stuck here,_ a nagging thought corrected her. She knew it was wrong to blame her friends for her own carelessness. But it was easier to stay angry with them than to acknowledge her stupidity.

She stopped abruptly as she came face to face with a full length, ancient looking oak framed mirror. However, the person staring back at her was not herself. It was the most beautiful woman that she had ever seen standing beside a fairly handsome man. The man had an arrogant look on his face and his arms were linked around the woman's waist. The woman was carrying a baby in her arms. She had the same black hair as Janieve but that was the only resemblance. She stood there looking at the unsmiling people in her reflection, mesmerized.

"I see you've found the Mirror of Erised," a voice said, breaking her trance.

Janieve turned and saw her headmaster looking at her with a benign expression worn on his face.

"The Mirror of Erised?" she squeaked.

"Yes, what you see is something you desire. Something that only you yourself can see," replied Professor Dumbledore. "Tell me what did you see?"

"A man," Janieve answered, "and a woman who looks so familiar but yet I'm sure I've never met them before.

"Who had you desire to see?" inquired Dumbledore.

"My parents," Janieve whispered. And then she gasped. She remembered where she had seen them!

"My child, I knew this day would come," said Dumbledore, almost sympathetically, "where you'll have to face the truth. I should have told you this long ago but seeing how happy you had been for the past sixteen years, I just could not bring myself to. However, the time has come for me to come clean, for I see it is no longer in my position to decide for what you should know, and what you should not. Come to my office with me, and I will tell you everything."

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Arrows were flying wildly above their head as they scrambled out of the way while Ron was shouting jinxes at the centaurs. He was trying to stun the horses but decided shortly that he was not going to win. There were simply too many of them. He dropped his head down as the three of them ran for their life.

The centaurs' hooves were stamping wildly in the dry mud, kicking up sand while their shouts could be heard from all direction. Whatever they were shouting, Harry could not make out though. Fortunately for them, the noise and darkness made it possible for them to scramble to safety. Unfortunately for them, it was too chaotic to avoid the blind arrows.

"Hermione, this way!" shouted Harry. In the frenzy, both of them had lost Ron. Harry could only pray that he was unharmed. They jumped over overgrown roots, the sound of centaurs' hot on their tails.

"Ahh!"

"Hermione!"

Harry felt a hot searing pain shot through his body as he fell forward. His glasses flew off his face and landed a few feet away. His visions became blurred and he could hardly make out his surroundings. The sounds of the centaurs' hooves digging into the mud faded into the distance as total darkness befall him.

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_How could it be?_ Janieve thought miserably. The truth that had been hidden from her for sixteen years of her life was suddenly dropped into her life like that. Like a bomb. A bomb that had shaken all the foundation of her beliefs.

Dumbledore was walking silently beside her, escorting her back to the Gryffindor Tower. He seemed to understand the need to remain quiet, to let what he had just told her sink in. No matter how long of silence he was willing to provide, Janieve knew she could never truly accept the truth.

"Professor Dumbledore!" shouted an urgent voice, breaking into Janieve's unpleasant thoughts.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley, what can I do for you?" asked Dumbledore, and Janieve turned to see a flustered looking Ron, his ruddy hair soiled.

"Professor Dumbledore, Harry is injured!"

Janieve felt her heart leaped to her throat. _Harry is injured?_

"Where is he now?" asked Dumbledore, his cool exterior crumbled a little with a hint of worry.

"In the hospital wing. He… He lost a lot of blood!" Ron blurted.

_Lost a lot of blood? What happened? _Janieve felt sick to her stomach. _Please let him be alright. Please!_

They walked briskly to the Hospital Wing, all silent with unspoken worry. Dumbledore pushed through the double doors into the ward, with Ron and Janieve hot on his tail.

"What happened?" demanded Dumbledore. Madam Pomfrey who had just emerged from her office nearly dropped a cup of brown fluid she held in her hands. A teary face Hermione looked up from where she was, her bushy hair was wilder than usual and she looked absolutely dishevelled. Lying on the bed she was sitting next to was Harry. _No, not Harry, _Janieve hoped silently. _That bloody wreck lying on the hospital bed couldn't be Harry._ Harry's face was engulfed by the pillow, his back messy hair facing the ceiling. Even through his black t-shirt, Janieve could see how much blood he had lost.

Madam Pomfrey lifted up his t-shirt to reveal more blood and she started spreading the disgusting brown fluid on his back while saying, "He should be fine. He lost a great deal of blood but this," she lifted up the cup of fluid, "should stop the bleeding."

"I want to know what happened," Dumbledore repeated calmly. Hermione looked at him fearfully. She opened her mouth to speak but another torrent of sobs racked her small frame. Dumbledore turned to Ron.

Ron put his arms out at his side and shrugged. "I don't know. I was separated from them when the centaurs went off their rockets. I just ran and ran, and I saw Buckbeat…"

"Centaurs?" she asked.

"Mr. Weasley, please start at the beginning," interrupted Dumbledore.

"Uhh… We were in the forbidden forest and then the centaurs start attacking us…" Ron began.

"What were you doing in the forest?" Dumbledore asked nicely, but there was an edge to his voice that told them that he would tolerate no nonsense.

"Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione suddenly, "I am sorry. We had gone into the Forbidden Forest to look for Grawp, Hagrid's half brother, when we bumped into the centaurs. They went wild because of our presence and started attacking us. I tripped and when I got up, I s-saw," Hermione paused to calm herself down, as if relieving the incident was too traumatising for her, and she continued in a more steady voice, "I saw Harry fell as well. One of the centaurs got him and the herd was charging at us. Then Ron came, with Buckbeak and we managed to escape."

"Hermione!" Ron hissed.

Hermione turned to Ron with an annoyed look before adding, "Please do not blame Hagrid, Professor. We went in of our own accord."

Dumbledore sucked in a deep breath and said, "Very well. Thank you Miss Granger for your honesty," and he looked meaningfully at Ron, "I shall deal with Rubeus in whichever way I deemed fit. And you, all of you, should stay away from that forest, and especially the centaurs. I would have thought you would have stayed away from them after that little incident last year. Apparently not. Now, I want you to go back to your room and get some sleep."

Hermione and Ron bowed their head low as they made their way out of the ward. Janieve turned to Dumbledore and asked, "Please sir, may I stay here with Harry?"

Dumbledore studied her for a long moment. His face was unreadable. Finally he spoke up. "Yes, you may Miss Walker. But I would not allow you to skip any lesson tomorrow for this."

She smiled gratefully at him. "Sure you would not. Thank you Professor Dumbledore."

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Harry was painfully aware of the burning sensation shooting through his spine when he woke up the following morning. He was awfully uncomfortable in his position, with his neck twisted to the side for breathing. He was sure that he would have a neck cramp when he got up.

He attempted to move but stopped when another shot of pain hit him like a bolt of lightning. Suddenly, he noticed a ball of black silky hair lying next to his arms on the bed. Everything in the background was not in focus and the position he was lying in could only allow him the view of a stretch of beds. Suddenly, last night's events came back to him.

"Hermione!" he shouted, and he immediately regretted it. The effort he used to do that caused yet another sharp throbbing through his body. He winced in pain.

The ball of black hair moved up to reveal a soft pretty face. "Harry!" shouted Janieve.

"Hermione, where is she?" Harry asked anxiously. All he could remember from last night were the centaurs attacking, he and Hermione running, and Hermione's scream before he lost consciousness.

"Hermione is fine. She is not hurt or anything. Dumbledore made her go back to sleep." Janieve said soothingly.

"How about Ron? Is he back yet?" Harry asked.

"He is. He was the one who saved both you and Hermione."

Harry nodded dumbly and then nearly snorted at what she said after his worries for his friends were relieved. Ron had saved them? What an irony when he was the one who had triggered off the attack. The centaurs hate it when wizards use magic on them.

"You stayed here with me the whole night?" Harry asked finally.

Janieve nodded sheepishly.

"Thank you," he said.

Harry felt his heart beating wildly once again. _She stayed here to make sure I'm alright! She was worried about me._ But a nasty thought hit him. _And I made her upset by excluding her in last night's little adventure._ But relief swept through him as another consideration occurred to him. _If she had been with us, she might have gotten hurt. _Harry was suddenly extremely thankful that he had not given in to his temptations to tell her about their mission last night.

"Harry, will you be alright on your own? Dumbledore says I would not be allowed to skip lessons today and I think it's about time I get ready for them," said Janieve.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thank you so much again for staying with me the whole night." Harry told her earnestly. She only flashed him her famous Janieve Walker smile before she scurried out of the Hospital Wing.

Harry laid there in his awkward position with his eyes closed, Janieve's upbeat smile haunting his mind as he slipped back into blissful oblivion.


	15. The Negotiations

Hey all readers! Thank you so much for supporting my story and especially to those who sent those encouraging reviews. Thank you all so much! I have no idea how to reply to your review so I'll just address everyone else here. To those that asked if I wrote the sorting song myself, well mostly yes but I also added certain lines from JKR. Also to Lizz, I think you did not put down your email fully. Is it or something else?

Chapter 15: The Negotiations

It was the first week of December and every student in Hogwarts was talking about their plans for Christmas. Ron had told Harry, Hermione and Janieve that Mrs. Weasley had invited them to stay with the Weasleys at The Burrow over the holidays. Harry was really looking forward to it.

"Fred and George also wrote to say that Lee is throwing a party on Christmas Eve and we're all invited," said Ron.

"I don't see how we'll be allowed to go," Harry said.

"Don't worry. Fred and George are working out a plan now. They figured that since Lee's house is quite near to ours, there shouldn't be a problem," replied Ron.

The four of them ambled down to Professor Snape's dungeon for their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson. Snape had told them that they will be having a duelling match this afternoon. Harry was not sure if he was glad about this. Defence Against the Dark Arts had always been his favourite subject. Having the opportunity to duel should be good news to him. However, Harry was almost sure that Snape would make use of the chance to make things difficult for him.

When they reached the door that led to Snape's classroom, a crowd of Slytherins and Gryffindors were gathered outside of it.

"What's happening?" Ron asked Dean.

"Ssshhh!" hissed Lavender Brown.

They all kept quiet and heard two voices drifting out of the dungeon.

"It's been more than ten years. How long must you take to let go?" said a female voice.

"There's nothing to let go. I've never put it to heart," came Snape's growling voice.

"You know very well that's a lie. You've always blamed Sirius and me. Even after so many years, you've never stop."

"That Animagus and I never get along. That has nothing to do with you," snapped Snape.

"Severus, you are still as stubborn as ever," she said.

"And you're still as persistent as ever," he replied.

There was a moment of silence before the door sprang open and Professor Winter stood in the door way. She smiled wanly at the crowd gathered in front of her, and the students moved aside to let her move. Harry, together with other students stared after her departing form.

"What are you staring at?" Snape boomed.

Everyone jumped and they quickly filed into the dungeon. Harry had a strong sense of foreboding that this DATDA class was going to last really long.

The Gryffindors were brutally thrashed by the Slytherins by the end of the class. It was not that the Slytherins were better than them. It was not that at all. Snape had openly side with the Slytherins even when they had been fouling blatantly while penalising the Gryffindors for every little thing.

"I truly hope something bad happens to Snape by the end of this school term," commented Ron as he rubbed his lower back. For once, Hermione was not speaking up for Snape. She too, was rubbing and shaking her wrists.

"Ron! Harry!"

The four of them whirled and saw a flustered looking Ginny hurrying up to them.

"So good to see you here," she said breathlessly when she caught up with them.

"What's up, Ginny?" asked Harry.

"Haven't you heard?" she asked.

"Heard what?" said Hermione.

"The tornado! Voldermort caused a tornado in America!" Ginny cried.

"What tornado?" asked Ron.

"Voldermort cast a spell and caused a hurricane in various states in America. The took place along all the coasts which swept away countless muggles in those area," said Ginny in a seemingly calmer voice, but she was still bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"What?" blurted Harry even though he had heard perfectly clear every single word Ginny had said.

"Wait, Jan! Where are you going?" shouted Hermione.

Harry turned and saw Janieve sprinting away from them. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny picked up after her and saw her darting past the Great Hall and out of the castle.

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This had got to work, thought Janieve desperately.

Janieve stood on the lawn before the calm sparkling lake and momentarily forgot what she had come for. She was not sure how she was going to do it. She had never done this before and she sure wished she did. She wished she had taken to the Water Fairy seriously. If she had, those millions of lives could have been saved. Perhaps now she could prevent more damage. She had to try.

She squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated hard. She opened her eyes but nothing was happening. She closed them again and concentrated harder. If this doesn't work, she was at her wits end.

"Janieve!"

Her eyes flew open and she saw Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny running up to her from the corner of her eyes. No sign from the lake. Then she had an idea.

She ran past her friends but Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Sorry Harry, I have no time to explain," Janieve replied urgently. But Harry did not let go of her.

"I'm not letting you go unless you tell me where you're going," he said sternly.

Janieve tried to wrench herself free and sighed in defeat. "Okay fine!" she yelled. "Just follow me if you like. But I'll only explain later!" she said stubbornly.

She held Harry's gaze defiantly for awhile before running towards the toilet. She sprinted across the length of the field and almost collided into a row of lockers as she turned around a pillar. She dashed into the female toilet and into the shower where she had met the Water Fairy.

From behind, she could hear Ron shouting, "But Harry, that's a girls' toilet!"

"Melody!" Janieve hollered as she switched the tap on. The jets of water that were released were so cold that they stung against Janieve's skin.

"Melody!" she yelled again.

"Hello," said the Water Fairy which was beginning to form bit by bit. Well, to be exact, droplets by droplets.

Janieve heard Hermione gasped from behind her.

"Melody! How do I command the Water Element?" Janieve asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking," Melody muttered.

"I'm sorry but I got no time for this. Please teach me how to command the Water Element," Janieve pleaded.

"You just need to concentrate," Melody answered easily.

"That's all? No incantations or anything?" Janieve inquired. "I did that just now but nothing happened."

"Obviously you weren't concentrating enough," Melody replied disinterestedly.

"Well, thanks for nothing," Janieve shot back rudely before turning to push past Hermione, Ginny and Harry.

She ran back towards the lake again with her four friends still on her heels.

She shut her eyes and attempted to regulate her breathing. Slowly, she began to feel calmer. And just as soon as this peacefulness came, it was replaced by a subtle sense of excitement coursing through her body. She opened her eyes slowly this time.

The surface of the lake rippled slightly and slowly but steadily, it began to rise. Within seconds, a thin sheet of transparent medium raised up to meet her. It began to fold together from both ends and started spinning so quickly it was making Janieve dizzy. It spun so fast until it became a blur and eventually, they transformed into the shape of a giant eagle. The water spun some more until a man finally replaced the eagle.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I want you to stop the twister in the affected areas in America," said Janieve as she tried to sound as steady as she could though she was shaking badly inside.

"That will not do," he replied.

"Why not?" Janieve asked.

"Because I belonged to the European Seas and am not allowed to venture into the American Seas, much less stop them from their activities," he explained.

"But they are killing thousands and thousands of innocent! I can't let them do that!" yelled Janieve.

"Those people are not innocent, young lady. The destruction that mankind brought about to us and the nature had come back around to them. It's all Karma," the water man replied stiffly.

"It's not Karma! Don't you get it? It's Voldermort!" she screeched. Desperate tears were running down her cheeks and she felt totally helpless, not to mention, useless.

"I'm sorry but I really cannot help you. If you really want it to stop, you may try negotiating with the American Water Element yourself," he said.

"How do I do that?" Janieve asked.

"Just concentrate and try to reach them," he answered.

"Thanks…" Janieve began.

"Marlee," he supplied.

"Thanks Marlee," Janieve said.

"You're welcome," he said and then he disappeared. Janieve forced down her eyelids for the fourth time that morning.

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Harry watched as the Marlee water man disappeared back to the lake in amazement. As much as he was used to surprises in this Magical World, what just happened still shook him a little.

Now, he watched apprehensively as Janieve stood facing the water, apparently concentrating on calling forth the water from the America Seas. He, together with Hermione, Ron and Ginny, had heard the exchange between Janieve and Marlee.

Harry was feeling a bit hurt and pissed off that Janieve had not told him that she had such power over the water element. But he remembered that he was hiding a lot of what he had been through from her too and slapped himself mentally for being such a jerk.

Janieve's black silky hair billowed around her and Harry noticed her body going slack. When he finally came to his senses, he reached forward to catch her. He slipped two hands under her armpits right before her knees buckled and gave way. Her head tilted backwards and rested on Harry's chest as her whole weight weighed upon him. Her eyes rolled back into her skull and Harry heard himself shouting her name while shaking her unconscious form repeatedly.


	16. Revelations

Chapter 16: Revelations

"Harry?" Janieve croaked. Harry lifted his head and looked at her with sleep-filled eyes. Two dark circles were visible under them.

"Janny!" Harry's face broke into a relieved grin.

Janieve smiled back but before the smile could settle on her face, she bolted upright on the hospital bed.

"The Tornado!" she cried. She attempted to get out of bed but Harry held her back. He was surprisingly stronger than she thought he was.

"It's over, Jan," he said. Then, seeing the horror on Janieve's face, he added quickly, "I mean the Tornado is over. You succeeded."

"Really?" Janieve asked.

"Really," Harry confirmed. Janieve slumped back against the head of the bed.

"How long have I been out?" she asked.

"Two days."

"What?" Janieve spluttered and sat upright again.

"Ssshhh! You're going to wake Madam Pomfrey up!" he hissed.

"Sorry. What time is it now?" she asked.

"One thirty-five in the morning," he answered, "I wanted to be here when you wake up."

Janieve looked at Harry and felt a new surge of affection for him.

"You've been staying by me for the past three nights?" she asked.

Harry nodded and Janieve felt the affection intensified.

"I think we'd better go somewhere else. No one except Hermione and Ron knows I've been sneaking out to visit you," Harry said, "How about the room of requirement?"

"Okay." Together, under Harry's Invisibility Cloak, the pair crept out of the Hospital Wing.

Harry slung his right arm across Janieve's small waist from behind and laced his fingers with hers, as they lied on their side on the bed in the room of requirement. Harry inhaled the sweetness of her hair.

"Do you know how worried I was when you wouldn't wake up?" Harry murmured into her neck and he tightened his hug on her. Janieve squeezed his hand in response. "Promise me you won't ever do that again," he whispered.

"I can't promise you that," Janieve said.

"Please?" Harry begged.

"Sorry Harry, I really cannot promise you something that is not within my control. I can only promise you that I'll try my best not to let that happen again," she replied.

"Fair enough," Harry said.

They were silent for a long moment before Harry spoke again. "What you did was amazing. But why didn't you tell me earlier you had such a power?" he asked.

"Well, I wasn't sure how you'd react if you knew about this. Besides, when I found out about this, I couldn't quite believe it too so it kind of slipped my mind to tell anyone," she answered.

Harry turned Janieve around so that she was facing him.

"What do you mean you weren't sure how I would react? How do you think I would actually react?" he asked seriously.

"I mean, I thought I was freaking out when I saw Melody. I didn't want you to think I was going crazy too," she said meekly.

Harry tilted up her chin with one thumb and gazed into the depth of her eyes.

"If there's one of us who's crazy, that would be me. Sharing the same thoughts and feelings as Voldermort, seeing things that he sees… I don't think I would ever find anyone more insane than me. Why would I judge you when the whole Wizarding world is judging me?" he said, his green eyes swimming with un-fallen tears.

"I…" Janieve began but Harry's lips met her slightly parted ones and drowned out her words. She closed her black almond-shaped eyes and returned the kiss.

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It was Sunday morning and Harry made use of his free time to do something he had wanted to do days ago. Janieve and Hermione were studying in the library while Ron had gone to practise Quidditch with Dean and Seamus. Harry said he would join them later.

Harry knocked on the door which had a sign on it that read "Florence Elizabeth Winter, Potions Master".

"Come in, Harry."

Harry turned the knob and pushed the door open, but remained rooted in the doorway.

"How did you know it was me?" Harry asked.

"I knew you would come and ask me about Sirius. I'm just surprised it took you so long," Professor Winter replied.

"So you really know Sirius?" Harry asked as he took a few more tentative steps towards his Professor.

"Yes I do. In fact, we were pretty close once," she said.

"And I supposed you know my parents too?" Harry asked.

"Yes. But we weren't really friends. I was from Slytherin, you see," Professor Winter answered.

"Then how come you are friends with Sirius? He was from Gryffindor," said Harry.

"Even though Sirius was in Gryffindor, he had half his foot in Slytherin. He came from a pureblood family don't you remember?" Professor Winter said, "Besides, Sirius never minded which house I came from."

"How so?" Harry asked. Professor Winter shrugged.

"What happened between you, Sirius and Professor Snape?" Harry asked.

"A little misunderstanding, Harry," she replied and took out a basin from her cabinet which Harry knew was the Pensieve. Professor Winter pointed the wand to her head and pull out a strand of silvery substance and dropped it into the Pensieve.

"Go on, have a look," she encouraged.

Harry leaned over the basin and immediately saw a sixteen-year-old Florence Winter and Sirius Black. Florence looked really gorgeous with her brown tendrils falling nicely on her shoulders. She had lesser wrinkles and her eyes were brighter. The two of them were walking side by side towards the Great Hall. Bertha Jorkins suddenly stepped in their way.

"Oh Siri Siri, what were you doing last Thursday?" Bertha said.

"Get lost Bertha," said Sirius.

"Do you need me to refresh your memory?" Bertha went on.

Sirius grabbed Florence's arm and sidestepped Bertha. However, Bertha continued to follow them.

"What were you doing with Florence behind the greenhouses last Thursday?" Bertha teased.

Sirius whirled around on Bertha and Bertha smiled triumphantly. "What nonsense are you talking about?" Sirius snarled.

"About you and Florence kissing behind the greenhouses of course," she said knowingly.

"Shut up Bertha!" Sirius gritted his teeth in irritancy.

"Siri oh Siri, kissing Florence but lack the guts to own up," Bertha teased relentlessly. Florence blushed deeply.

Sirius whipped out his wand and shouted a hex. A jet of red light shot out from his wand and hit Bertha on her forehead. She turned into a frog in an instant.

The place fogged over and another scene took place in the pensieve.

This time, Florence was sitting on a couch in front of a fireplace when Snape stormed up to her.

"I heard you were kissing Sirius behind the greenhouses last Thursday," said Snape angrily.

"What's the matter Severus?" said Florence.

"What's the matter Florence?" Snape mocked. "You're allying yourself with the enemy! Sirius Black is from Gryffindor!"

"Don't you think you're exaggerating this a little bit?" Florence shot back. "We're all in Hogwarts!"

"What's he got?" Snape asked, beet face.

"What?"

"What's he got?" Snape repeated. "What's he got better than me?"

"Severus…"

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Harry found Janieve in the library that night poring over the Transfiguration textbook. The whole library was deserted except for her. Even Hermione was gone.

Harry came up behind her and began massaging her shoulders. Janieve dropped her quill and immersed herself in the comfort of his touch.

"Harry…" she murmured.

Harry leaned into her ear and whispered, "come on, I'll take you somewhere."

They ran as quietly as possible out of the library and down the moonlit corridor. Weird moving shadows were playing across the walls. Harry stopped when they reached the statue of Boris the Bewildered. He located the right door, leaned close to it, and whispered, "Morning dew".

The door creaked open and Harry let Janieve in first before shutting the door silently behind him. He took out his wand, pointed it at the door and muttered "Colloportus". The door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise.

"Merlin's!"

The bathroom looked the same as Harry had remembered in fourth grade. It was softly lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier and everything was made of white marble. There was a bathtub the size of a rectangular swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. All around the edges were a hundred golden taps with jewels pierced into its handle. The white linen curtains covered the windows completely and a large pile of fluffy white towels sat in a corner. The blonde mermaid in the golden framed painting was sleeping soundly.

"What is this?" Janieve cried, her dazzling eyes surveying the grandness of the place.

"This is the Prefect's bathroom. Ron gave me the password," said Harry, smiling slightly at Janieve's reaction.

"How unjust! This is so beautiful! How come the Prefects get such privilege?" she moaned.

"Well," Harry replied, "now Prefect's friends get the privilege too."

Janieve laughed. "That's true."

Janieve went around turning on all the taps, and a hundred different types and colours of bubble bath began filling up the pool.

"Turn around. I'm going in. And don't look," she said when all the taps had been switched on. Harry turned around and Janieve immediately slipped out of her robe and stepped into the water. Harry followed after her when she turned her back on him. However, he decided to keep his boxers on just in case.

Janieve leaned back her head against the edge of the pool and closed her eyes. Harry did the same on the nearer end to her.

"Thanks Harry. This is exactly what I needed," Janieve said earnestly.

"My pleasure," Harry replied. Janieve turned to look at him and Harry felt a sensation he had never quite felt before.

"Harry…" Janieve said softly. She reached for his arms, and when she found them, she pulled herself closer against him. Harry stiffened in anticipation. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her left cheek against his chest.

Janieve tilted her head towards Harry and their lips met. It was gentle at first but it slowly escalated into hungry kisses. Janieve pushed her tongue into Harry's mouth and she began massaging his with hers. She ran her hand lightly up and down Harry's back, sending tingles down his spine. Harry rubbed her arms in return.

Tonight, Harry was seeing Janieve in a new light. He felt a little more than the usual concern and liking for this girl. He felt lust.

His hand wandered to the small of her back and felt the bra strap on her otherwise bare skin. Harry smirked against her lips.

They started rubbing each other more intensively, their mouth never apart. Random memories started flitting in and out of Harry's mind. He recalled the first time he met Janieve on Magnolia Road as his lips travelled down her neck. A soft whimper escaped her throat. He saw himself on the broom with the snitch in his hand and witnessing Janieve's fifty feet plunge. Next, Florence Winter's image entered his brain and left.

Harry began planting small kisses along her collarbone. He saw the Centaurs chasing after him and Hermione. Then, Janieve was standing in front of the mirror of Erised. The couple in her reflection caused Harry to recoil back in disgust.

"Who was that?" Harry demanded. Janieve's dark eyes flashed with fear.

"Who was that!" Harry asked more loudly now and Janieve flinched at his tone.

"My- my parents," Janieve stammered. Harry stumbled a few steps back from her.

"Your parents?" he repeated dazedly. "The Lestranges are your parents!" Harry yelled.

Janieve nodded meekly, tears trickling down her otherwise flawless face. Harry felt his knees buckled and he supported himself against the edge of the pool.

"Do you know they tortured Neville's parents into insanity?" he asked fiercely.

A torrent of sobs escaped her throat and she nodded again. "Dumbledore told me," she said quietly.

"And Bellatrix killed Sirius," Harry stated. "How long have you known this?" he questioned.

"The night you were attacked by the Centaurs," she answered, her voice cracking slightly.

"And you've no intention of telling me? Ever?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I tried to!" she explained. "But so many things happened after that. I couldn't find the chance!"

Harry nodded his head dumbly then he shook it. He hoisted himself out of the bubble bath, dried himself with one of the fluffy towels and slipped on his robe.

"Harry, where are you going?" Janieve asked. Her tears were practically pouring out of her eyes now.

"I'm sorry," he said coldly, "but I can't be with the child of cold-blooded murderers."

With that, he exited the bathroom, leaving the wretched girl sobbing uncontrollably, her fallen tears indistinguishable from the water in the pool.


	17. Avada Kedavra

You know what I absolutely hate about this site? It's that I can't reply to the reviews one by one. I would really love to reply to each and every one of your reviews because I'm honestly floored by them. I really appreciate the time you've taken out to read my story and even to write your comments. I started writing the story because while I was reading the order of the phoenix, a sequel started forming in my head and I thought I would test my writing skills. But receiving encouraging reviews from strangers is really flattering and it's what keeps me going now that school had started and the work is killing me. I hope this chapter is up to standard. Enjoy!

Chapter 17: Avada Kedavra

"_Sit, my child," said Professor Dumbledore. Janieve obliged._

"_Tea?" he offered. Janieve shook her head._

"_I guess I will begin my story," he said._

"_Many many years ago," he started, "a dark wizard who alias himself as Lord Voldermort came to power. But exactly fifteen years before, he failed in killing a baby, and his curse rebounded on him._

"_Harry," Janieve supplied._

"_That's right. The baby was Harry. Voldermort tried to kill Harry but failed. He lost all his powers that night and became less than half a human. His most loyal supporters were desperate to find him and restore him back to power. A group of them, including your real parents, tortured the Longbottoms for information of Voldermort's whereabouts using the Cruciatus curse…"_

"_Neville's parents!" Janieve interrupted._

"_Yes," replied Professor Dumbledore. "They were caught in the end and sent to Azkaban after being found guilty. You then became an orphan. I decided to put you up with a muggle family near Harry's home so that I can keep a good watch on both of you at the same time. When you turned the age of school, I decided not to let you learn about sorcery after all. Unlike Harry's aunt and uncle, your adopted parents were awfully nice to you even though you were just a baby that appeared on their doorstep out of the blue. You were so happy living as a muggle. I just could not bring myself to take that happiness away from you. So, I let you lived your life the way it was. However, your biological parents managed to escape prison, found out about you, and decided to come for you. I couldn't allow another innocent to turn bad because of your parentage so I took you with us."_

"_My adopted parents and my boyfriend… they were killed by…?" Janieve asked even though she knew the answer already._

"_The Lestranges. Your parents. They were the two hooded figures," Professor Dumbledore replied._

_Janieve felt the wind sucked out of her. My adopted parents and my boyfriend were killed because of me, she thought miserably and consumed by guilt._

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The following week was probably one of the worst in Janieve's life. Rumours spread like fire. Everyone was talking about Janieve being the Lestranges' daughter. She even overheard some fourth years saying that Janieve was working for Voldermort and the reason she was with Harry was because she was spying for the Dark Lord. The only Hogwart's students that were actually still civil to her were Ginny and Hermione. In fact, they trusted her, remained friends with her, and endured all the snide remarks with her. Janieve was very grateful to them.

Janieve's biggest consolation was that Hermione had assured Janieve that Harry had not been the one blurting her parentage to the rest of the world. If Harry had told anyone, it would have been Ron and Hermione but both of them had heard the news from a third party. Somehow, the news had got out and Janieve had no idea how.

She seriously had no idea how much more nasty looks from Ron she could take before breaking down. Janieve felt really bad that Hermione and Ron were not on speaking terms because of her. Thankfully, Christmas was coming soon and she would be away from this school for the time being. But her relief was short-lived when she remembered that she'll have to stay at the same place as Harry and Ron. She wondered if Mrs. Weasley would hate her too when she found out Janieve's relations to the Lestranges. She also wondered if Fred and George would scorn her the way Ron did.

Janieve spent all her free time studying and was becoming nearly as good with all her spells as Hermione was. She could now summon anything from wherever and transfigure anything into something with no resemblance to its original. Time seemed to pass excruciatingly slow with lesser friends and company. Ginny too was having problems with Dean because Dean, Seamus and Neville believed Janieve to be a dark witch too and were angry with Ginny for associating with her.

"You know Janny," Hermione said, "it's just the boys. They are too prejudiced. One day, they'll come round."

"Yeah, I bet Ron will turn out like Percy if he doesn't watch his footing," Ginny added consolingly.

"My mom's a giant an' she was not a good mother too. But mos' people, people who mattered anyway, 'ad come to realise tha' I am harmless," said Hagrid.

The four of them were having their dinner at Hagrid's hut the fifth time that week. This had became a routine for them for Janieve found that she could no longer face the animosity the students were throwing at her during meal times. Janieve could tell that Hagrid, Ginny and Hermione were trying to cheer her up but she was not listening to them. She was watching Fangs ripping his dinner - a large piece of meat - with mild fascination.

They walked back to the Hogwarts castle after a short dinner mainly because Janieve was not making an effort to maintain their conversation. They reached the dining hall and realised that most of the Gryffindor are still having their dinner. Harry looked up and their eyes met and she thought she saw hatred in his eyes. She walked away sadly, her head down and avoiding all eye contact.

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Harry lied in his bedroom that night, tossing and turning. His head was churning a hundred thoughts a second and he was sure he had laid there for hours. He could not get Janieve's sad eyes out of his mind. The way her shoulders slouched as she walked nowadays and the usual glow no longer on her face, they just seemed to tug at his heartstrings. As much as he was angry at her, he wanted to run to her and hug her and tell her everything will be okay and yell at the people staring at and gossiping about her.

However, during dinner earlier on, his eyes had met Janieve briefly and he had felt this immense pain and hatred towards her. The feeling was so strong that it had caused a twisting feeling in his chest. He wanted to shout at her and tell her to stop acting pathetic. He would swing from feeling sorry for her one minute to feeling extreme anger at her the next. It was this contradicting emotion that had caused the sleepless nights.

Faint sunlight filtered through the curtains and played oddly shaped shadows on the walls across his bed. The boys dormitories slowly lighted up by the crack of morning and Harry gave up all hope of ever getting a wink when he heard Ron waking up on the bed next to his.

Harry climbed out of bed with difficulty as his fuzzy head weighed down on him. He saw Ron and noticed that he looked as bad as Harry did. His eyes were puffy from lack of sleep and he had a look of annoyance permanently plastered on his face. Harry figured this had got to do with Hermione and the topic of Janieve.

"Good morning, Harry," he said.

"Morning," Harry replied.

As Harry walked towards the bathroom, a girl with auburn hair leapt out from the curtains around Dean's bed.

"Ginny!" Ron shouted. "What are you doing here?"

Ginny flushed and Dean appeared from behind her.

"What the fuck were you doing in Dean's bed?" Ron demanded frilly. His temper had been on the brink for days and it was just finding the perfect opportunity to let out.

"And what fucking business is it of yours?" Ginny yelled back now, her face still flushed, but no longer with embarrassment but with anger.

"I'm your brother," Ron said.

"That doesn't give you the right to poke into my business," Ginny shot back.

Ron gave her a venomous glare before turning to Dean. "What were the two of you doing?"

Dean opened his mouth awkwardly but Ginny cut him out.

"I just slept in his bed last night okay?" she cried indignantly. "What's the big deal? It's not like we had sex or anything. Stop being such a prick Ron. If you'd just lighten up, maybe Hermione would start talking to you."

Ron's jaw fell open. Ginny grabbed Dean's arm and yanked him out of the dormitories.

The rest of the day was worse than the start. Ron's bad mood was starting to get to Harry. He appreciated his good friend's loyalty to Harry but Harry wished he would stop badmouthing Janieve. Although Harry could not accept her as a girlfriend, he didn't really find her such a horrible person as Ron had put it.

He played numerous rounds of exploding snaps with the boys before they decided to head for dinner. As Harry climbed out of the Gryffindor common room, he spot Hermione, Janieve and Ginny walking up the stairs towards him. Janieve's eyes were downcast and she appeared not to have noticed him. Harry felt a pang for causing such sorrow in her. And just like usual, the pang was replaced by fury. The fury grew and made his head feel like they were on fire. Without meaning to, Harry reached for his wand.

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"Avada Kedavra" Harry shouted, his wand pointing at Janieve.

"Expelliarmus!" Hermione shouted at the same time and Harry's wand flew out of his hand.

"Janny!"

"Harry no!"

Janieve felt a streak of burning sensation across her back as she fell forward. Her knees hit solid ground and her visions swam before her. People were screaming but they sounded distant to her. Her head lolled sideways and she fell backward, her legs tucked under her. The last thing she saw before she lost all consciousness was Ginny's worried face hovering over her.

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"Harry no!"

Harry heard someone called him. He felt his body went weak as he toppled over. He was on all fours and he felt something rushed from his stomach and pushed through his throat. He began to vomit involuntarily.

"Harry, are you okay?"

Harry sat down finally, an odd sour taste lingering on his tongue. Ron was looking at him with a look of fear and worry altogether.

"I'm fine," he replied grudgingly.

Ron merely looked at him, unconvinced.

"Potter," Snape barked menancingly, "Dumbledore wants you to wait for him at his office."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"You don't remember anything at all?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head furiously. He could only remember himself puking his heart out. He looked around him. All his friends were staring at him. Then he remembered. He was heading down to the Great Hall for dinner with Seamus, Dean, Neville and Ron when he saw Janieve, Hermione and Ginny heading up in their direction. His head throbbed as he tried to remember what happened after that. Everything that happened between now and then was a total blank.

"You just attacked Jan…" Ron began.

"That's enough!" interrupted Snape.

"Potter," Snape snarled, "come with me now."

Harry had no choice but to follow Severus Snape up to Dumbledore's office. His mind was in a whirl. Had Ron just told him that he had attacked Janny? How was that possible? He was angry with her for hiding the truth about her parents but that had not warrant an attack from him. Besides, if he really did, he would have remembered it, right? Harry turned to Snape when they reached the ugly stone gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office.

"Crooning Crickets," said Snape. The stone gargoyle moved aside to reveal the passageway to Dumbledore's office. "Go on in."

"Sir," Harry began tentatively. He needed to find some answers and he needed them now. But he also knew getting information from Snape would be hard for him. Anything that agonised Harry seemed to make Snape satisfied.

"I am sure Professor Dumbledore would be in a better position to answer your questions, Potter," Snape answered even before Harry asked. For an instant, Harry thought he saw sympathy in Snape's eyes. But when he looked at Snape again, that look was gone and Harry seriously considered he had imagined it.

Harry had been sitting in Dumbledore's office for a really long time. Harry wished fervently that he had worn a watch with him that day. The sun outside Dumbledore's office was setting, illuminating the otherwise dim office with its bright rays of dusk shine. He knew that he would suffer from a breakdown from all the questions burning in his head if his headmaster did not come back soon.

Harry got up and began pacing the office. He found himself soaking slowly into darkness.

The door suddenly jumped open and Harry turned to see a tired looking Dumbledore. He looked surprised to see Harry in his office but that surprise was gone in a split second.

"Professor," Harry began but Dumbledore raised a hand up to stop him.

"Harry, take a seat," he ordered.

"No! I've been sitting here the whole night! I need to know what happened!" Harry shouted angrily.

"Harry, please," said Dumbledore calmly, "I'll give you your answers when you're seated."

Harry sat down obediently. Dumbledore took his seat across him and looked down on him through his half-moon spectacles.

"Harry, have you been practising your Occlumency?"

Harry looked down guiltily. He was afraid that Dumbledore might tell him what he had already deduced. He was suddenly not so sure he wanted his answers anymore. He shook his head finally.

Dumbledore sucked in a deep breath uncharacteristically. "Harry, Voldermort has made use of you again," he said sympathetically, "and this time, he had attacked Miss Walker."

Harry mouth went dry. He looked at Dumbledore dumbly.

"I am sure you would be relieved to hear that she is no longer in critical danger, thanks to Miss Granger, who managed to disarm you in time. But she is still weak and will need to recuperate in St. Mungo's Hospital for sometime," Dumbledore went on.

St. Mungo's Hospital? The injury must be serious for her to be admitted to St. Mungo's, Harry thought anxiously.

"Wha-What did I a-attack her with?" Harry stammered.

Dumbledore looked at him searchingly, as if trying to decide if he should be told the truth. Finally he spoke, in a foreign, cracking voice, "The Killing Curse."


	18. Jealousy

Chapter 18: Jealousy

"Janny…"

Janieve woke up and found Hermione and Ginny peering down at her. Her face lit up as brightly as her physical being allowed. Her body still felt weak but she was really happy to see visitors other than those from the Order. She had been staying in St. Mungo's over the past three days and all who had come to see her were people from the Order. She was thrilled to finally see her friends.

"Hermione! Ginny!" She squealed with delight.

"Look what we've brought you," Hermione said cheerfully. Janieve thought she sounded awfully like Mrs. Weasley. Ginny pulled out a box of chocolates and two books from the paper bag they had brought along with them. Janieve inspected the books. One was _'The Ancient Spells of The Unknown' _and the other, _'Quidditch Super Star'_.

"Brilliant!" shrieked Janieve. "You girls are amazing…" she muttered as she flipped the second book open. The book opened to the middle and staring back at Janieve was a picture of Harry. In the photo, he was sitting on his broomstick, a golden snitch held in his palm. He was smiling and waving with his free hand fanatically at her, his green almond shaped eyes sparkling with glee. The caption beneath it read "Harry Potter – The Next Seeker of The Century".

Hermione saw where Janieve's eye fell on and said immediately, "Harry, he had wanted to come but Dumbledore told him not to."

Janieve shook her head as she felt her tears threatening to fall over. She knew that Hermione was lying. How could Harry ever want to see her? He had wanted to kill her. He hated her because her mother had killed Sirius. Even Hermione and Ginny seemed to have realised it was a bad lie.

"Jan… He was really worried about you," Ginny said soothingly, "he's just too damn proud to admit it."

At this, Janieve could no longer hold back her tears. She allowed them to trickle down her cheeks. She felt Hermione slung her arms around her shoulders and drew her into a hug. Ginny sat on the other side and joined them in a group hug.

"It's alright Janny," she heard Hermione whispering in her ears, "he'll come around. He will come around."

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It was two more days of stay after Ginny and Hermione's visit before Janieve was allowed discharge. Professor Dumbledore and Remus Lupin had come to pick her up. Janieve was feeling apprehensive about going back to Grimmauld Place. Because of the change in circumstances, they had decided to forgo the plan of spending Christmas at The Burrow.

Twenty minutes later when they arrived at Grimmauld Place on foot, Janieve was so sick with apprehension she felt like throwing up. She forced herself to continue walking.

"Jan!"

Janieve looked up and saw Ginny running down the stairs. Hermione, Harry, Ron and the twins who were seated around the dining table looked up.

"Janny!" Hermione squealed.

Everyone else at the table just stared at her. Ron was still shooting her daggers. Harry went back to inspecting his fork on the table.

"Just in time!" said Mrs. Weasley who had just walked out of the kitchen and saw her. "Lunch is about to start."

Janieve looked at the hostile look Ron was shooting her and the awkward looks the twins were giving her, and said, "I'm not really hungry," and went up the stairs squeezing past Ginny.

She ran down the corridor to the room she had slept in over the summer. She flopped onto her twin size bed, laid face-down on the sheets and sobbed into her pillow quietly.

"Jan?"

Janieve quickly wiped her tears discreetly over her pillow.

"Jan," Hermione said as she sat down on the bed next to her. "Are you okay?"

Janieve rolled around to face Hermione, a fake smile fixed on her face. "I'm fine," she lied, and hoped her face told the same story.

Either it did, or Hermione had chosen not to bring it up. She merely said, "That's good."

"So, what have you guys been up to?" Janieve asked casually.

"Nothing much. Cleaning up the place. Can you believe this place still has so much to clean up despite a year of doing so?" Hermione said. Janieve gave a fake forceful laugh.

"Look Janny, we've found a perfect room and set up a video viewing projector. There are big comfy couches and we bought all sorts of videos and snacks. Would you care for a muggle treat tonight?"

Janieve just stared at Hermione. The offer was too tempting. Sitting on the couch, eating chips and watching muggle shows, how many times had she done that back in her home? On the other hand, the thought of spending the night with people who did not welcome her, it was too daunting for her.

"I don't think…"

"Don't answer me now okay? Just think about it and if you feel like it, you're always welcome. Well, I can't say the same for Ron but who cares about that git." Hermione told her.

For the first time, Janieve looked at Hermione carefully. Hermione was usually quite pretty but now she had looked waned. Had Hermione been quarrelling with Ron over her? She wondered.

"Don't worry Jan. If Ron is going to behave like a five year old, I think maybe I was wrong to even consider him a potential partner," Hermione said, reading her mind.

"Hermione," Janieve said gratefully, "I've never even been close to you before. I was with Harry most of the time. But the person who trusted me most turned out to be you, not him. I can't even begin to describe how much I appreciate you."

Hermione just smiled at her. Shortly, she left the room to let Janieve sleep. But Janieve was too awake to sleep. She had been sleeping so much in the hospital that she thought it would be impossible for her to sleep at all for three days straight. Instead, she had lied on the bed and thought about the events that had happened over the past half of a year. She had thought meeting Harry had been the best thing that had happened to her. But now, it had been the source of her misery. She wouldn't have minded the hostile looks Ron was shooting her. But it was Harry's nonchalance that had upset her so. He had acted like she did not exist even when she had been a mere few feet away from him.

"Janny, it's time for dinner," said Hermione. She and Ginny had suddenly appeared at the door.

"I'm not hungry," Janieve lied.

"Don't be silly, of course you're hungry," Ginny said and the two walked in with plates and bowls of sandwiches, salads and pies. "We've brought them up."

"You're right, I'm famished." Janieve announced cheerfully. Her friends had been so considerate of her feelings, how could she have the heart to reject their good intentions. Especially when her stomach was protesting so violently.

"Good. We were starting to wonder if you've become anorexic," quipped Ginny. The three girls began attacking the food. To be exact, Janieve was the only one who had actually fit that description.

"So movie?" Hermione asked as she took a piece of the chocolate pie. Janieve was going to say no when a loud crack was heard. Fred and George suddenly appeared in the middle of their room.

"Fred! George! We could have been changing!" Hermione reprimanded.

"That's a risk we're willing to take," they said together, which earned them a nasty look from Hermione.

"Anyway, we're here to escort you to the screen room," said Fred.

"Ron and Harry are getting impatient," added George.

"Well, we're just about to go," said Hermione and she looked at Janieve pointedly.

"I uh, I think I'll pass," she said.

"Walker says she's passing," Fred told George in mock alarm.

"Then I think I'll pass too," George replied sadly.

"Me too. Where's the fun without her?" Fred said dramatically.

"Me three," piped Ginny.

"Me four," said Hermione.

"Guys!" exclaimed Janieve but she was laughing genuinely.

"Well, we just want you to know that we do not think like the two gits in the screen room now," said Fred, suddenly serious.

"Yeah, we know you are a good person, or you wouldn't be so willing to try our new experiments," added George.

"Come on Janieve," Ginny urged.

"Alright alright I'll go." Janieve said defeatedly but inwardly she was smiling happily.

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Harry had been shocked to see Janieve joined them at the screen room. Not angry, just shocked. Afterall, she had been hiding in her room ever since she came back from St. Mungo's Hospital. He could not blame her for hiding though. The way he had treated her the past month was proof of how lousy a boyfriend he had been. Then he reminded himself that he was no longer her boyfriend.

Harry had not meant to ignore her like he had. He had wanted desperately to visit her when she was in the hospital. He had been so worried about her he had barely eaten. But his ego was too big, bigger than he was willing to admit. First he had been angry with her for… He didn't even remember what he was angry for. For her keeping her mother's identity from him? Or just the fact that her mother was an evil dark witch who had killed Sirius? All had seemed too trivial to blame her. It was not her fault that she had a vile for a mother.

But now, the anger had been mixed with shame. He had tried to kill the girl he cared the most about. What kind of sick person was he? Even though he had been acting on Voldermort's accord, he had not been able to forgive himself. With all these mixed feelings, Harry had found it easier to simply not talk about it. And that had meant, ignoring Janieve.

"_Are we there yet?"_

They were watching Shrek 2 and Janieve was laughing uncontrollably into Fred's shoulder. Harry felt a twinge of jealousy. Harry had not thought it was possible to feel so many emotions towards one person at the same time until that moment. Hermione had once chided Ron and him for having the emotional range of a teaspoon and now Harry finally understood what she had meant.

Well, Fred is good, Harry thought. He was older, funnier, and less dangerous to hang out with relative to Harry. Janieve should be happy with him. But somehow, that thought had not comfort him at all.


	19. Christmas Attack

Chapter 19: Christmas Attack

It was a day before Christmas and Sirius' house had been livened up with all the Christmas decorations. It had taken them only a few hours to put up the streamers, balloons, Christmas tree and the lightings. That was the convenience wizards have over muggles. With a few waves of their wands, everything was in order.

Hermione had given Janieve a bracelet which could command her wand. If she had been disarmed, she could just shout "Accio wand" and the wand will fly back to her. Ginny and the twins had given her a beautiful broom case while Mrs. Weasley had made her a lavender sweater with the alphabet "J" knitted over the heart.

Janieve brushed her long black mane, put on a little make up and headed down for the Christmas Eve feast. She had been in a better mood since her discharge from the hospital. Although Harry and Ron was still ignoring her, Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione had made it up by being extra nice to her. The atmosphere was more like anti-Harry-and-Ron than anti- Janieve.

A number of the Order members were around. There was Tonks, Mad-Eye, Remus, Mundungus, Kingsley, Mr. and Mrs.Weasley, Bill and a beautiful girl Janieve did not recognise.

"Mom, Lee has got this party going on at his house tomorrow night and we're invited," said George over dinner.

"Well alright, boys," said Mrs. Weasley, "but no drinking."

"Harry and the rest are invited," added Fred. Everyone around the table stopped their chatter.

"You know Harry is not allowed to leave the place without a guard," responded Mrs. Weasley impatiently.

"Why not? We are sixteen. We are not children anymore. Harry knows how to take care of himself," said Ron. Harry nodded his head. Janieve, Hermione and Ginny were looking at her expectantly.

"Well, Dumbledore did say they're allowed to have some fun," began Mr. Weasley.

"Arthur!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply.

"Well, Molly, they are almost grown-ups," said Lupin.

"You said almost. You too know wizards are only considered adults when they are seventeen. And you know it would be dangerous," argued Mrs. Weasley and Janieve thought she saw her looking at her for a fleeting moment.

"Dumbledore had it all covered Molly. It'll be fine. I think they need to relax," said Lupin.

Mrs. Weasley looked around the table but none came to her rescue. Finally she said, "Fine! But Ginny is staying."

"But mom! I can take care of myself!" Ginny protested.

"Yes Molly, what do you expect her to stay here all by herself while her friends and brothers are off to a party?" said Mr. Weasley.

"Fine! Fine!" she shouted as she began cutting angrily into her piece of turkey.

Ginny and Hermione launched into a conversation of what to wear to the party to saying how much they envied Tonks for being a Metamorphmagus. They started asking Tonks what it was like to be able to change her appearance at will. Janieve tuned out their conversation. She was observing Harry. She was sure Harry had been looking at her when she flirted with the twins the past few days. She was sure he still felt something for her and she needed to talk to him. Her chance came when Harry decided to beat an early retreat to his room.

"Harry?" she called gently outside his room. When there was no reply, Janieve pushed open the slightly ajar door. Harry was lying on his bed, his back facing the door. "Harry, I know you're awake." Still he did not answer.

Janieve went over to sit beside him on Ron's bed. "Harry, I'm really sorry for not telling you earlier about my parents. I found out the night you were attacked by the centaurs. Then many things happened after that. I couldn't get the chance." She said dejectedly as her words were once again greeted by silence.

"Harry, do you remember when you said you wouldn't judge me after the tornado incident? You said your whole life had been judged by other people. I thought you would understand how I feel."

Still there was no answer. Janieve was getting angry.

"Do you think I'm proud of having parents like them?" she said hotly. Harry just lay motionless on the bed soundlessly. "Do you think if I had a choice, I would want two cold-blooded murderer as my parents? Sirius was my uncle! You're the only one with the loss!" Janieve felt her eyes stung with tears. After another long moment of silence, she left the room feeling worse than she had ever felt.

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Harry's bright green eyes were shining with tears. _Do you think I'm proud of having parents like them?_ Janieve words had given him an odd feeling of déjà vu. Last year, Sirius had used almost the exact same words on his take on Bellatrix Lestrange. _Do you think I'm proud of having a relative like her?_ Harry knew it was unfair to blame Janieve for something that was not her fault. In fact, he did not blame her anymore. If there was one thing he was sure that night, it was that he cared about Janieve a lot. He would do anything to keep her from danger, even if that meant keeping himself away from her.

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"Wake up!"

"I'm not going!" Janieve grumbled. Ginny and Hermione began attacking her with their pillows.

"We are not going without you!" cried Hermione.

"And after all the trouble we took to get the permission to go, we're not going to let you ruin it for us," proclaimed Ginny.

Janieve groaned. She sat up and stared viciously at her friends. "Can you just leave me alone?" she pleaded.

"NO!" they shouted at once.

"You know what we should do? We should dress you up so hot all the guys' jaws will hit the ground, and let Harry regret for treating you badly," Hermione went on.

Janieve's lips curled into a cunning smile and said, "Now, that's an idea… How about NO!" and she flopped back onto her bed.

Twenty minutes later, she had been pushed into the bathroom to shower and pulled out of there, changed into an ultra short brown skirt which hung dangerously low on her hips and had threw on a black tank top. The attire was too skimpy even for a normal day, much less for a typical snowing winter day.

"How do you expect me to go out in this?" she said, shivering with cold.

"Here," Hermione said as she tossed her a denim jacket.

"And this," added Ginny as she handed her a pair of brown suede boots.

"Wow…" they murmured as they stared at their creation two hours later. Janieve's hair was tied up in a high but loose ponytail. Her face was made up expertly by a spell Tonks had taught them over dinner last night. Even Janieve had to admit she looked gorgeous.

"I'll still be shivering outside," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Don't worry, a coat should do the trick," said Hermione confidently.

"Even if not, I'm sure plenty of guys would be honoured to warm you up a little," added Ginny cheekily.

Janieve had to smile despite herself. _Harry is so going to regret this,_ she thought evilly. Her friends really knew what they were doing.

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Harry's jaw literally hit the ground when he saw Janieve. The three girls had emerged from their room at five in the afternoon even though Harry was sure they had been up since noon. Hell they were making so much noise Harry was sure their neighbours would have heard it if not for the anti-muggle spell on the house.

Hermione was dressed in a clingy black dress which clung to her at the right places while Ginny was clad in black leather pants and a flattering blue blouse that brought out her eyes. Janieve was a different thing altogether. She was unearthly. She looked liked a playful angel. She was so gorgeous Harry had tripped himself over the carpet upon seeing her and knocked his chin painfully on solid ground.

Fred let out a wolf whistle while George kept saying Lee was going to thank them for this. Mrs. Weasley had reproved the girls for wearing too little and said that the cold was going to get to them. Harry had to agree with her for once. They were indeed wearing too little. But Harry was more repulsed by the thought of strangers ogling at them than anything else.

Harry was sure Ron was smitten by Hermione from the way he was staring at her, kind of rudely actually.

"What Ron? Have someone turned you into a frog? You look just like one with your eyes bulging like that," she snapped meanly.

The seven of them got into a London cab. Harry was sitting between Ron and Hermione and facing the twins, Janieve and Ginny.

"Where does this Lee Jordan guy stays?" asked Janieve.

"Prinsep Avenue," Fred replied, "but we're going somewhere else for dinner first." The driver pulled into a street lined with dingy looking shop houses and restaurants.

"This is a muggle restaurant," said Hermione as they walked up the entrance to an old looking restaurant with broken green and red signboard.

"Yes it is, and don't tell mom," said George.

"Yeah, she'll flip. Anyway, it was Dad who told us about this place," agreed Fred.

The restaurant from the inside was surprisingly well furnished. It was classy and chic with a little Christmas decorations but not overly done. The place was packed with diners already even though it was barely six.

They were seated next to the enormous aquarium situated in the middle of the restaurant. Harry looked idly at the colourful fishes swimming around while waiting for the food to arrive. He figured it would take some time with the crowd.

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"Eww, I'm not eating this!" protested Ron.

"It's yummy!" Ginny said.

"They are snails!" Ron cried indignantly.

"They are escargots," corrected a laughing Hermione, who seemed to have forgotten to stay angry at Ron.

"I don't care what gold they are," said Ron stubbornly, "they look disgusting."

"Your loss then, Ronnie," said Ginny who was helping herself to a second one. Harry didn't blame Ron though. Even though he had grown up in a muggle family, he had never eaten something quite like this before. Janieve, on the hand, looked like she had enjoyed it thoroughly and that had prompted Harry to try one, to his regret of course. The snail-like dish was chewy and tasteless and Harry had forced it down his throat with a few gulps of water.

"Guys we'd better hurry up. I don't want to miss the firewhiskey," said George.

Ron nearly chocked on his ice-cream. "Firewhiskey?" Ron croaked, "Tell me Lee hadn't got that," Ron said disbelievingly.

"He's got that," said Fred and George merely nodded in consensus.

"Merlin's beard! I've been dying to try that!" Ron exclaimed.

"But, are you sure we're allowed to…" Hermione started but Ron cut her off.

"Stop being a spoilsport Hermy. We are grown ups. Look at us!" he said. And Harry did. Indeed, they looked like a bunch of young adults even though they were only fifteen, sixteen and the most, eighteen. Hermione just scowled at Ron but did not argue with him for once and Harry was thankful for that. Harry himself had wanted to try the firewhiskey ever since he had come to know about them.

They walked out of the restaurant a little past eight and saw that the London cab was still waiting for them outside.

"I didn't know they booked the cab for us," said Ginny. They filed into the spacious vehicle and headed for Lee's house.

Lee's house was big. Harry did not know Lee was rich. He had expected all the rich wizard families to be dark wizards. Now he knew he was wrong for Lee could never be a dark wizard.

"Wow!" murmured Ron and Harry felt that was an understatement. Lee's house had this circular drive in before they reached his porch. At the side was a garden with a pond big enough to be called a lake. The inside was even more spectacular. There were light chandeliers hanging down from the high ceilings and their crystals lit up every corner of the room. The only house he had seen which could measure up was Janieve's house. The place was packed with people and Harry recognised a few of them from Gryffindor or at least used to be from Gryffindor. Fred and George had abandoned them and made their way towards Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet. The five of them made their way to one of the untaken couches. He also saw Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor ex-captain before Angelina, with a bunch of ex-Hogwarts students in Oliver's year.

"Harry!"

Harry turned around and his heart nearly skipped a beat when he saw Cho Chang bounding up to him.

"Hi Cho, nice to see you here," he said politely.

"Nice to see you here too!" she gushed. "How have you been?"

"Uh not bad. You?" Harry asked.

"Not so good. I broke up with Michael." She said sadly but smiled quickly, "Want to dance?"

Harry looked at Janieve but she was looking at the drink she held in her hand.

"Come on Harry, I missed the chance at Yules Ball. You can't say no now," she said decisively as she dragged a protesting Harry down to the dance floor.

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"Seamus! Dean!" Ginny called. They turned and made to walk over but froze when their eyes landed on Janieve. They quickly walked away.

"What's with them?" Ginny asked, not quite catching on. Janieve shrugged though she knew perfectly well why they had walked away.

Janieve could feel her good mood evaporating ever since she had stepped into this place. Fred and George had left them at the start of party and Harry had followed suit when a pretty Asian girl had asked him to dance. Janieve had pretended to look away but she was eavesdropping on their conversation. She could tell that she was Cho, the girl Harry had dated last year, and she was obviously flirting with him.

Now, only Ron, Hermione, Ginny and she were left stranded at the couch. None of the Hogwarts students had dared to join them because of Janieve's presence. Dean and Seamus' reactions were proof of that.

Janieve got up with the excuse of going to the bathroom. She did not know most of the people here and she felt really left out. She knew if she stayed with her friends any longer, they too would be plagued by unpopularity.

She walked outside into the cold Christmas night. The late December wind was stinging her face but she didn't care. She needed to get away from everyone and outside had seemed like the best choice. She found a swing in the garden and sat on it, swinging lightly as she occupied herself with miserable thoughts.

More than a dozen pairs of violet eyes walked out from the dark and began closing in on Janieve. She noticed them when they were a good two feet away from her. She drew out her wand but came up with none. She then realised her wand was still in her coat pocket. She remembered the bracelet on her wrist and opened her mouth to shout "Accio wand" but before she could do so, the black cat-like creatures jumped on her and began biting and clawing at her. She tried to fling them off but there were too many of them. Janieve fell to the ground, tasting blood in her mouth. Her visions blurred as more blood began flowing down her forehead into her eyes.


	20. The Killets

Chapter 20: Killets

Harry felt Cho's hand around his neck as they swayed to a slow number. He had been dancing with Cho for a really long time and he was really tired. If truth be told, he was going crazy from not seeing Janieve. He craned his neck to look at the couch he had been on moments before. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Ernie Macmillan were still seated there, drinking firewhiskey. Ron's face was as red as his hair. Janieve was nowhere to be seen.

Panic rose in the pit of Harry's stomach. He had a very bad feeling about her absence even though he figured he was probably being over-paranoid. Still, he decided to look for her, to at least make sure she was safe.

He told Cho that he was going to the bathroom and before she could protest, he moved away from her and squeezed through the throngs of people towards the kitchen. The kitchen was empty and Harry helped himself to a cup of firewhiskey. He exited the back porch and found himself standing before a huge rectangular swimming pool. The water was so sparkling Harry felt an urge to jump in. He then remembered Janieve and the Prefect's Bathroom and a hot flush crept up his neck.

Shaking himself out of his reverie he began to survey the garden around the pool. The place was so beautiful that Harry wondered why no one was out here, but instead chose to squeeze in the house.

He followed a trail between two rows of rose bushes and came to a picnic table. He settled himself into one of the plastic chairs at the side of the house and gazed into the distance. His eyes travelled to the swing on the front porch and rested on a black heap on the ground before it. His blood chilled and he leapt up from his seat, his knees banged the table in the process.

Harry ran towards the heap and found a blood-covered Janieve. Her head was bleeding so badly that Harry could hardly make out her face. He let out a scream, his knees gave way, and he fell on them beside her.

Everyone was screaming wildly when they realised what Harry was carrying into the house. His hands and clothes were stained with her blood as she was hung limply over his arms.

What happened next happened in a blur to Harry. Hermione was the first to react. She commanded everyone to stay calm with the help of Ginny and Dean. Then, she asked Lee to show them his fireplace and bring along some Floo powder. Fred and George then got Janieve bandaged up with a few spell. They got into Lee's room and Harry immediately stepped into the fireplace shouting Grimmauld Place, Number Twelve while sprinkling some of the Floo Powder at his feet.

"Help!" Harry yelled once he stepped out of the fireplace in Sirius's house. He placed her gently on the couch.

Mr. and Mrs. Weaseley, Tonks and Lupin emerged into the room just when Ron, Ginny, Hermione and the twins arrived by the Floo network.

Their jaw dropped when they saw the bloody sight before them. Janieve's whole body was mutilated with cuts and blood was oozing out from them. Mrs. Weasley went hysterical.

"I told you this would happen! I told you, Arthur!" she was yelling incoherently at Mr. Weasley.

"Molly, calm down! The important thing now is to save her!" he said heatedly.

"What happened?" Tonks asked.

"I don't know," Harry replied as calmly as he could, "I found her like that."

Lupin was crouching over Janieve as he examined her cut. "It's the Killets," he informed.

"What Killets?" Ron asked.

"They are catlike creatures, but only more dangerous. Some called them the mutants of cats. They usually attack in packs and once bitten, their victim usually doesn't survive. I've never really seen a Killet before because they are really mysterious creatures. I thought they were just rumors," Lupin replied.

Harry wanted to scream at them. Janieve was bleeding profusely and there they were discussing the matter like it was nothing urgent.

"You need to stop her bleeding!" Harry yelled angrily. He knelt down beside her and stroked her hair, which was also caked with blood.

"No, Harry, we need to purge the Killet poison from her body," Lupin said.

"Then you'll do that now!" Harry screamed. He did not care if they thought he was mad. All he wanted was to see his healthy Janieve again.

"Harry, unfortunately, we have no idea how to," said Lupin.

"Then are you just going to let her die?" Harry demanded.

"Harry calm down, we are thinking of a way now!" Lupin said.

"I don't see you thinking!" Harry spat.

"I'll call Dumbledore," Mr. Weasley offered.

Harry opened his mouth to protest but Lupin let out a short laugh before he could. Harry just glared at him.

"No, we'll call Florence," he said determinedly.

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Harry felt Janieve stirred beside him. Even in the dark, Harry could clearly see her pair of luminous violet eyes.

"Harry?"

"Ssshhhh… you need to rest," he said.

"Harry, where am I?" she asked weakly.

"We're at Sirius' place," he replied.

"My body hurts," she complained.

"What happened to me?" she asked.

"You were attacked by the Killets," Harry answered.

"Killets?"

"According to Lupin, they are some kind of mutated cats. Really poisonous and highly dangerous," Harry said.

"So how come I'm still alive?" Janieve inquired.

"Well, because… Professor Winter gave you something to drink that makes you tolerant of their poison," Harry replied.

"Harry, why aren't you looking at me?" she asked.

Harry remained silent, still not meeting her eyes.

"Is there something you're hiding from me?" she asked.

"Please don't freak out when I tell you," Harry said.

"Okay," Janieve agreed.

"Well," he began, "Florence Winter has concocted a potion to transfigure you into a permanent Animagus Killet and that had, according to Mr. Weasley, miraculously saved your life. The potion had made your blood tolerant of the Killet poison. Not only that, it has also given you the Killet's ability of speed and night vision. Given proper control training, you would be able to transform into a Killet at will."

"So I'm like an Animagus now?" she asked.

"Yeah, something like that," he replied. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Janieve replied, "I think it's kind of cool actually."

"Yeah, you'll be fine," Harry said quietly. He stroked her long thick hair slowly with one hand and touched her left cheek with the other.

"Why are you doing this?" Janieve asked painfully.

"Doing what?" Harry asked.

"This," she said and she grabbed his hand away from her. "I thought you hate me?" she asked.

"I don't hate you," Harry replied.

"Are you saying this because you're feeling sorry for me?" Janieve demanded.

"Of course not!" Harry cried, offended that she would think that way of him.

"So why are you doing this? Why are you being nice to me now? You are supposed to be blaming me for Sirius's death," she said.

"But I don't blame you Janny. I don't." Harry sucked in a deep breath, wondering how he was going to say what he was about to say. It would be like tearing down the wall he had built between himself and Janieve, to protect her. Apparently, it had done nothing to protect her.

"I was ashamed." He said finally.

"Of what?" she asked loudly.

"I was afraid that I would hurt you again. I was afraid Voldermort would hurt you again through me. In fact, I think the only reason why he would want to hurt you was because he knew what you meant to me."

"And what was that?" she asked softly.

"Everything. You meant everything to me. I am a marked man Janny. In the end, it's either Voldermort or me. I can't give you happiness," he said sadly. For a long moment, there was only the sound of breathing between them. Then, Janieve broke the quiet.

"But you are my happiness," she said. Harry looked at her and immediately regretted it. Her eyes still unnerved him a little. Nevertheless, he pulled her up closer to him and wrapped his arms gingerly around her.

There was no word to describe his feelings that night. He wished he could just lie there with her forever. He was afraid any movement would change everything they had just talked about. He was afraid to sleep for it might take away the floating feeling he felt when she had said he was her happiness. He was afraid of losing her.


	21. The Formal Meeting

Hey ho! I'm so happppyyyy! I officially said goodbye to this bitchy prof of mine about an hour ago. We had our final presentation and I managed to peep at her grading sheet during the presentation and I saw her messing around with the numbers so that in the end we'll still get the same total points. Basically she's biased towards my group and already had a grade for us in mind irregardless of how we did. But I'm just glad it's over.

Thank you all so much for the reviews. Oh yeah I would like to have Harry as my boyfriend too. But that's impossible because I don't think such a great guy exist (don't let my boyfriend sees this oops)

Anyway, please enjoy this chapter.

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Chapter 21: The Formal Meeting

"What the…" Ron said. Harry followed Ron's gaze and saw the heap of Daily Prophets at the doorstep, toppling over when Ron had opened it. Harry, Janieve, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, the twins, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, had taken the Floo Network to The Burrow earlier that morning and it was the first time anyone had opened the front door. Right after Ron had opened his mouth, another barn owl swooped down from overhead and landed another set of newspaper on top of the existing pile.

"Sorry!" shouted Hermione. "It's mine. I couldn't get them to deliver to Grimmauld Place since it's supposed to be a secret address," she said sheepishly.

"Tell me you're not going to read all of this," Ron asked.

"Sorry Ron, I can't. I want to find out what Voldermort's been up to," she answered. Ron winced at the mention of the dark wizard's name.

"You'll need days to go through that!" He said.

"And you guys will help me, won't you?" Hermione looked around at her horrified friends.

"I'll help," Janieve offered finally. Hermione let out a yelp of happiness and gave her a tight hug.

"What about the rest of you?" Hermione asked threateningly.

Harry shrugged. "Well, you've taken my girlfriend. I guess I have to help to get her back sooner."

Ron gave out a disgruntled sigh and went to pick up the pile of Daily Prophets. Ginny, Fred and George had disappeared up the stairs.

Ron had forgiven Janieve as soon as he found out that Harry had. If put nicely, Ron was a loyal friend who respected and supported Harry's decision even if he had not agree with them totally. To be more direct, Ron was just a follower with no mind of his own.

Two hours later, they were still flipping through the newspapers and scanning the headlines for any sign of the Dark Lord.

"You-Know-Who Strikes!" yelled Janieve. "Look!"

Harry, Ron and Hermione crowded around her and looked at the front page of a Daily Prophet dated the day before.

"It was only yesterday," commented Ron.

"Sshh!" hissed Hermione, "You-Know-Who strikes for the first time last night ever since he was found to be back last summer by Harry Potter at the Ministry of Magic. Blah blah blah… There was no concrete proof that the plane explosion flying from America to London was Voldermort's doing but expert had not ruled out this high possibility. Blah blah blah… It was definitely a dark wizard's doing due to the nature of the explosion. Blah blah blah…"

"Seventy-six were killed, of which ten were wizards and witches. Four of them had been identified as prominent figures in the Wizardry world who had graduated from the Auror Academy… Merlin's…" whispered Janieve.

"That figures. You-Know-Who probably killed them because they are a threat to him. I mean, it's five aurors we're talking about!" said Ron resolutely.

"What an underhand mean to do so," said Hermione angrily, "Exploding their plane with no chance of retaliation. And so many innocent muggle lives taken."

"Well, Voldermort is not really known for his muggle-loving nature, is he?" said Janieve derisively. A long silence followed Janieve's remark before Ron broke everyone out of their trance.

"Well, Diagon Alley anyone?" he asked.

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"You know, Hermione and I thought maybe it would be better if we check out Flourish and Blotts while you lot drool over the latest broomsticks," Janieve said.

Harry looked between his beautiful girlfriend and the new Nimbus 2005 and decided on the latter. "Alright, Ron and I will look for you later," he said.

"Thanks for making me feel so loved, Harry," Janieve joked as she and Hermione walked away towards the bookshop.

"My pleasure," Harry called after her.

Janieve shook her head, bemused. She had been in a good mood ever since she had patched things up with Harry. The attack by the Killets had seemed like a blessing in disguise to her. After what she had been through with Harry and finally getting back together, she had feel more connected with Harry than she ever had with anyone.

"Viktor is visiting tomorrow," Hermione said suddenly, "do you think a book would be too tacky a gift?" Her brows were furrowed with concentration.

"Well… I think…" Janieve began.

"Mmm hmm…" Hermione gazed up at the rows of books in front of them, her eyes bright like a child who had been given a treat. She ran up the first aisle and began tracing her fingers along the shelves of books.

"O-kay, see you later too Hermione," Janieve muttered to herself. She headed for the Extraordinary Magical Creatures section and began hunting for her treasure.

_Heliopath, Hippogriffs, How to Tame a Troll, Inchronics, Keep a Magical Pet, Kunv And Their Special Abilities… No Killet,_ Janieve thought. She took a step back and scanned the shelves carefully. She tore out a book called 'Mysterious and Treacherous – Thestrals, Killets and Many More'. She scrutinized the book hastily and found the page on Killets.

_Killets, the rumoured King of the Cats in the Wizardry world, is thought to be treacherous and mysterious due to their poisonous fangs and enigmatic hideout. They had been around as long as the Giants but are not often talked about because of their mysterious nature…_

Janieve slapped the book shut. _I have fangs?_ She wondered. _Cool!_ She held the book tightly to her chest and proceeded to make her purchase. After the shopkeeper had rung up her purchase, she began looking around for Hermione. However, she was not found. Perhaps she had gone to find Harry and Ron without me. Afterall, Viktor would more likely be interested in the newest broomsticks than the newest books, she thought wryly.

She skipped out of the shop, still feeling high from the ease in which she had found the book and the way it had described her – mysterious. She began humming to herself, and there was a light skip in the way she walked. She stopped abruptly when she came face to face with two black creatures with eyes quite identical to hers.

"It's her," said a voice.

Janieve looked around but found nothing but a broken sign which wrote 'Knockturn Alley'.

"Did you just say something," she asked one of the Killets.

"She can speak our tongue," the male one said to the female one. Janieve did not understand why she knew the gender but she just knew. Perhaps it was the Animagus in her.

"Yes, she is one of us now," said the female.

"No, she works for other purposes," the male one disagreed.

"Excuse me, can you not talk about me as if I'm not here," Janieve asked impatiently.

"Then she needs to change sides. You know we don't kill each other," the female continued as if they had not heard her.

"If you're thinking of asking me to be Voldermort's servant, you can forget it," Janieve said irritably.

The two Killets looked at Janieve as if they had just noted her presence. The female one spoke up first, "We are nobody's servant." Her voice was calm but the tone was menacing.

"Right, then Voldermort must have begged you to kill me," Janieve said haughtily. The male Killet looked about to strike her but the female one impeded him.

"We merely provided our service in exchange for our wants," she said.

"And what would that be?" Janieve asked, curious, but determined not to let her curiousity show.

"Janny!"

Janieve spun around to see Harry, Ron and Hermione. She cast a brief glance over her shoulder but the Killets were gone.

"Janny, what are you doing here?" Harry asked, a little harshly.

"Umm… I was just wondering why this part of the street seems so deserted, unlike the rest of Diagon Alley," Janieve half-lied. It was true that she had found this fact peculiar but she had been too occupied by her encounter with the Killets to ponder upon it.

"Well, that's Knockturn Alley, where only the dark wizards frequent," explained Harry, his tone evidently softened.

"That figures," Janieve said as casually as she could muster. She felt bad for lying to Harry and her friends but somehow, meeting up with her kind, the creatures that had attempted to murder her only days before, and telling them about it, had not seemed like the best thing to do. For one, she knew it would worry Harry no end and Harry has had enough to deal with already. She would just have to find a way to come back surreptitiously and finished her unfinished conversation with the Killets. She predicted it would be an easy feat, with her newfound stealth abilities.

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That night, Janieve kept her eyes shut but remained awake. She knew if she had opened her eyes, Harry would be able to tell from the violet glow that she was not asleep. After three hours of waiting, she finally heard Harry's soft melodious snoring. Janieve gingerly lifted the arm Harry had slung over her waist and placed them aside. She got up and left the room quietly.

Janieve and Harry had found the attic a perfect spot for them to sleep in together without letting Mrs. Weasley find out. She crept down flights after flights of the wooden stairs, which was creaking softly beneath her weight.

Finally she reached the landing. She stepped into the freezing late winter night and wished she had more clothing on. She was only wearing her oversized men pyjamas with a thin robe she had managed to snatch before she left Harry's room. There was no time to change.

Janieve walked determinedly ahead. She had important things to attend to and there was no room for her princess attitude. What's a little cold going to do to her? She would get her answers from the Killets and leave as soon as that.

She tapped thrice on the brick that would get her to Diagon Alley. The wall opened up to reveal a stairway. Perhaps it was the cold, walking through the deserted Diagon Alley suddenly scared her. What if she was attacked by a dark wizard in Knockturn Alley? _I'll just stay at the junction, I won't go in,_ she thought decisively.

She halted. It seemed like she did not have to go near Knockturn Alley at all for five pairs of indigo eyes were staring up at her. She smiled. She recognised the two Killets in the lead.

"We knew you would come," said the female Janieve recognised.

"Please forgive my manners. I don't think we have been formally introduced, have we?" Janieve asked.

"I'm Tranquil," she replied and Janieve could immediately relate her to the name. "And they are Magnis, Cray, and Willy. And Speed, you've met him."

"Well, nice to meet you," Janieve said politely, "I'm…"

"Janieve Lestrange, we know," Tranquil said knowingly. Janieve winced slightly at the choice of her last name.

"Okay, I'm here to get some answers," Janieve informed. Tranquil nodded and she went on, "You said you work for your wants. What would that be?"

"I think maybe you should transform yourself into one of us first," Tranquil said, "if someone sees you talking to a Killet… Well, you can probably imagine what will happen."

"But I don't know how…" Janieve let her voice trailed off as she felt her body contract and black furs began sprouting from her body. She felt an odd sensation shooting through her body and she fell on all fours on the ground. In an instant, she looked like one of the pack.

"Good. And now for your question…" said Tranquil, "Do you know what the bane of Killets is?"

Janieve shook her head.

"The bane of Killets is their inability to heal quickly. Once attacked, their wounds get infected because of the reaction formed between our poison and the bacteria present in the atmosphere. Voldermort, however, has made us an offer of the blood of a Giant, which could help us build up on our resistance to attacks."

"You've taken the blood of a Giant?" Janieve asked, appalled.

"No. We failed to kill you and the deal was off," said Speed.

"Why did Voldermort want to kill me?"

"Because you're important to him," Tranquil answered.

"Voldermort?"

"No, Harry Potter." This time, it was Cray who spoke up. Janieve felt her body expand as she raised her hind legs up in the air. Her black furs disappeared and she was back in human form again. She had got her answers. It was time to leave. But she needed to know one more thing before she leave.

"If I can get you Giant's blood, would you come to our side?" she asked.

"Yes. We need to discuss it with the council first. If you hadn't already known, Killets are very united creatures. They do not leave any of their kind out. And that includes you, Janieve," said Tranquil.

"Thank you," Janieve took a bow and sprinted off back to The Burrow.

Author's note: Oh I have a question to ask. Next chapter I have written something very slightly sexual and I just want to know if you readers are of age ahem and also are comfortable with it. If you're not, I'll do some slight editing for you.


	22. The Dark Arts

As promised, it's just gonna be a little titsy witsy bit sexual so here goes!

Chapter 22: The Dark Arts

"Janny… please… stop…" Harry murmured.

"You need to sound more convincing," taunted Janieve.

"Please…" Harry begged. Janieve had found a new fetish. All the fiddling and twiddling with his nipples was driving him insane.

"Why?" Janieve asked, her fingers still working on his chest.

"Because it tickles," Harry replied.

Janieve stopped moving her hands and Harry breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Mr. Potter's afraid of tickles?" she mocked, an evil glint in her purple eyes.

"Well, I'm sure Mrs. Potter would be afraid too," Harry said as he jumped on her. His legs were pinning her sides as he sat on her thighs, his hands tickling her squirming body relentlessly.

"Harry… NO!" she warned fiercely, but she was grinning. Harry pinned her hands down over her head with one hand and hovered his free hand above her stomach viciously.

"Harry, please…" she begged, her face scrunched up in a mock pitiful look. Harry grinned down at her. She was so beautiful. For a moment, Harry considered just holding her and admiring her like that forever.

"Don't worry, I'll never hurt my wife," Harry said cheekily and he leaned down to peck her gently on the lips. Her lips were so soft that Harry felt his body burnt with desire.

"Who's your wife?" Janieve challenged.

"You'll see," was all Harry said.

In one split second, he was kissing Janieve hungrily. His hands were working their way under her loose pyjamas shirt. Janieve had her hands under his shirt too, and she ran them up and down his back, sending tingles down his spine.

Harry trailed his fingers up her stomach and hesitated at the hem of her bra. Janieve, however, released her touch on Harry's back and guided his hand under the soft satin material. Harry began massaging her breast, vaguely aware of the swell in his pants. Excitement coursed through him.

_Tap! Tap!_

Harry and Janieve jumped apart at the noise. Hedwig was tapping noisily on the window, a roll of parchment tied to her feet.

"Can't let me spend some quality time with my girlfriend, can you?" Harry mumbled irritably. He tried to untie the parchment from her feet but she jumped away from him. "Great, what now?" he grumbled.

He was really annoyed at having interrupted by, of all things, his owl! Hedwig jumped over to Janieve and Janieve took the roll of parchment off her. She unrolled it and scanned it quickly.

"Who was it?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," she said, a frown on her pretty face, "but it's for me." She handed the letter to Harry.

_Dear Janieve,_

_We hoped you've adapted well enough to your new abilities. Have fun with them._

"There's no signoff name," Harry commented, "who could it be?"

Janieve shrugged. "No idea," she said, then with a playful tone, "so, where were we?" she asked.

"I think I have an exact idea where," Harry replied with equal mischief.

_Crack._

"Fred! George!" exclaimed Janieve, "you have any idea how… how…" she paused, trying to think of the perfect word to say, but none came, and she settled on… "rude that was?"

Harry, on the other hand, was suddenly thankful for Hedwig's earlier interruption. It would have been embarrassed to have Fred and George walk in on their little make out session.

"She says we're rude," said Fred.

"Well, we are," replied George.

"But we're kind enough to ask if they wanted to go for breakfast with us at the Leaky Cauldron," countered Fred.

"And she's sounding more and more like Hermione," added George, as if it had any inkling to what Fred what saying at all.

"And mom," agreed Fred.

"Alright, alright, we'll go. Just give us ten minutes alright?" Janieve said.

"Deal!" and there was a loud _crack._

"Do we really have to go?" Harry implored.

"Well, actually I'm kind of hungry," confessed Janieve.

Harry sighed. His sixteen-year-old raging hormonal instincts were protesting but if Janieve had said she was hungry, nothing else was more important than feeding her.

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"Happy new year!"

The Leaky Cauldron was packed. Extra tables and chairs were laid out to cope with the sudden peak in business but they were not enough to satisfy the long queue of patrons outside the shop. Every now and then, someone would meet someone they know and shouts of "Happy new year!" could be heard.

Fortunately for Harry and his friends, they had arrived early and found one of the most comfortable seats empty. However, Ron was the only one sulking among the festive mood.

"So now I am playing fulltime for Bulgaria. It is quite boring sometimes. Vot are you doing? Studying at Hogsvot?" asked Viktor Krum.

"Yes, I'm in the same year as Hermione," Janieve replied. At first, she had been quite turned off by the scowl on Viktor's face. He had looked like the entire world was in debt to him. However, he had been quite friendly when they started talking.

"I like Hogsvot. I met Hermy-own-ninny in Hogsvot. I haff a good impression of the school van I fisited during the Trifizard competition. Efen though it did not end quite vell," he said with a laugh.

"That's what made Hogswart so exciting, isn't it?" Janieve said.

"But honestly speaking, I vished I had gone to Hogsvot instead of Durmstrang. My parents haff alvays been fond of the Dark Arts. But I haff alvays resisted them. I had a difficult time in school. But I heard the new headmaster in Durmstrang is changing the vole dark arts attitude in the school. I vished it could haff been in my time," he said and the scowl on his face deepened.

They spent the entire morning having breakfast and chatting over cups of butterbeer until Hermione decided to show Viktor around Diagon Alley.

The twins, Ginny, Ron, Harry and Janieve decided to head back to The Burrow. On the way back, Ron kept cursing under his breath, the scowl on his face almost as permanent as the one on Viktor's.

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Janieve had not been seeing much of Harry ever since school started two weeks ago. Ron had been really upset when Viktor Krum showed up at The Burrow on New Year Day that he had not spoke to Hermione since. Harry had played the good friend by spending more time with Ron, while Ginny with Hermione.

Janieve had took this opportunity to practise her new ability, amidst her busy school work, Occlumency lessons with Harry (the only alone time she had with him), Quidditch practise and going to the library to check up on Killets and Animagi. She was just thankful that the school had allowed her to drop subjects she had no interest in. Janieve had dropped Divination.

The two weeks of school had not gone off well at all. Rumours were still flying around Hogwarts and their stories had gotten more ridiculous than ever. Once, she had caught Jessica Tinkles and Evelyn Won, third year from Ravenclaw, saying that she was a spy for her parents, and that she was a Death Eater herself. But Ginny had let on an interesting revelation after that incident.

"How come they never say such things about Malfoy? His father is a Death Eater too, isn't he?" Janieve grumbled.

"Well, for one, Malfoy is in Slytherin and they're afraid of offending the Slytherins," answered Ginny, "besides, they're just jealous of you."

"Jealous of me? What's there to be jealous of?" She snorted derisively.

"Because of the way Harry looks at you and because you're with Harry." Ginny said. "Can't you tell? Harry is popular. His bravery is known to all. Many girls, especially the younger ones, would want to be in your position, to have his arms wrapped around theirs instead of yours."

Janieve had been in a good mood for days. All the rumours and snide remarks did not hurt her anymore for she knew that she had the triumph.

Janieve walked down the almost deserted corridors and paused outside the toilet to Moaning Myrtle. It was only a little past eight, and there are still a few upper years students roaming around. Once the coast was clear, she slipped into the toilet.

Once again, Janieve marvelled at the beauty of the toilet. It was clean and shiny, with high ceilings. It was spacious, the perfect place to practise. She had found this place by accident and had been here quite a few times since the school year started. It was sheer pity that Moaning Myrtle had to haunt the place.

"Huuuhhhhh-Loooowwwww…" wailed the ghost.

"Hi Myrtle," said Janieve. She took out a small rubber ball from her robe pockets and threw out the ball in one swift motion. When the rubber material left her touch, she leaped forward. She felt the now familiar feeling of her body contracting, black furs sprouting, and fangs growing in her mouth. She arched her body forward another two inches and jumped up into the air to catch the rubber ball in her mouth. Before she landed, she transformed back into human form. She spit the ball out of her mouth. She was getting better at this in a surprisingly short time.

"You're an Animaaagusssss," screeched Myrtle. Janieve ignored her. Every time Janieve performed her transformation in the toilet, Moaning Myrtle would make a big fuss out of it, as if it was the first time she had seen Janieve as an Animagus.

She repeated the motion a few times more until Moaning Myrtle's howling got to her nerves. She thrust the rubber ball back into her robe pockets and made to leave.

"Wait, don't go!" cried Myrtle. Janieve spun around and glared at her. Myrtle flitted out of the top of the cubicles and hovered about Janieve.

"Someone's coming!" she whispered in a very un-Myrtle way. The door flung opened and Janieve turned herself into a Killet and leaped under one of the cubicle doors.

"What are you doing?" Malfoy asked Myrtle suspiciously.

"Nothing," she replied. Janieve silently thanked her for not telling on her.

"Get out of the way, you pathetic little ghost," spat Malfoy. Moaning Myrtle let out a loud moan and slipped away into the sink, her weeping could be heard through the pipes. Janieve suddenly had an urge to slug that pathetic excuse of a bully.

"Come here Goyle!" he barked. Goyle reluctantly obliged, though Janieve thought she saw him shuddered.

"You know I won't hurt you," Malfoy coaxed but there was a wicked glint in his cold blue eyes. Janieve felt like shuddering herself. Goyle was already whimpering like a child who had just been denied Christmas for the rest of his life.

"My father would not let me join him," said Malfoy angrily, "However, I will prove to him that I am worthy. Imperio!"

Janieve watched in horror as Goyle began ballet-dancing and he looked really comical with his massive form weighing down on his toes.

"Good Goyle. Dance like a chicken for me," Malfoy said cruelly. Goyle began flapping his arms at his side and running in circles like a flustered hen. He was clucking his tongue as he did so. Janieve would have laughed if not for the severity of the situation. Draco Malfoy was practising the Dark Arts in Hogwarts, and worse, he was using one of the unforgivable curses on his very own friend.

Half an hour later, Janieve walked out of the cubicle shakily after Malfoy and Goyle had left. She sneaked back into the Gryffindor tower and into the common room. She collapsed onto the couch by the fireplace, too tired to move. What she had witness had sapped her of her remaining energy. Her limps were too heavy to move but her brain activity would not cease. It took another two hours before she finally fell into a restless sleep in the Gryffindor common room.


	23. Grawp

Chapter 23: Grawp

"Now, can anyone tell me why we're here for our apparition lesson?" asked Professor McGonagall. The whole Transfiguration class had been carried out in Hogsmeade that day.

Hermione's hand shot up in the air almost immediately. "Please Professor, Hogwarts had been protected by an ancient spell such that no apparating would be possible on its grounds," she said cleverly.

"Very good," said McGonagall, "ten points to Gryffindor. Now, apparating is no simple feat. It may look very easy but many things had gone awry before if they were not done properly. When you've become really good at it, you do not need a wand to disapparate. In fact, you do not even need an incantation. However, since this is your first time, I would like you to start with your wand. At the count of three, point your wand at yourself and say 'Apprenish', while thinking of the place you wished to be at. For now, we'll just meet at the end of this street."

Harry held his wand high above his hand, its tips directing at him.

"One… Two… Three!"

"Apprenish," Harry said. He felt an electric current shot through his whole body and in an instant he appeared in the clearing behind Hogsmeade. _What the,_ he thought. He was sure he had pictured the entrance of The Three Broomsticks, which was at the end of the street his class had been asked to apparate. How he had ended up in this clearing, he had no idea.

"Harry Potter," drawled a voice. He narrowed his eyes as Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother, stepped into view. He still had his wands in his hand and he was standing in a duel position.

"No need for that, young Potter," she said, "Look, no wands." She raised her hands to show that she had no wand with her. Harry lowered his wand but his fingers still clenched tightly around the thin wooden rod for comfort.

"What do you want?" Harry asked coldly. He was sure this meeting had been no coincidence.

"Nothing," she sniffed, "just thought I would warn you about your precious girlfriend, Janieve Walker."

"Well thank you," Harry replied icily, although he was bristling. _How dare she speak of my Janny with her filthy mouth?_ "I think I should know her better than you do."

"Or do you?" Narcissa challenged.

Harry's mind wheeled. What was this all about? He was almost sure that Narcissa Malfoy was trying to sow discord between him and Janieve. That was what the Dark Wizards and Witches were good at. Harry was determined not to be another weak minded victim of hers.

"She had been working for the Dark Lord," Narcissa told him.

Harry laughed. "And why would you want to tell me that if it's the truth? You work for him too."

Now it was Narcissa's turn to laugh. "Well, let's just say, thanks to her, the Lestranges had gained a more favourable position with the Dark Lord compared to the Malfoys."

Harry shook his head, not quite sure what she was playing at, yet determined not to fall for her trap.

"I've told you what you need to know, it's up to you to believe it," she said and with that, she vanished into thin air with a loud _crack._

Harry was bridled. He should know better than anyone that the Death Eater's words could not be trusted. But he could not help but found himself wondering about Janieve's mysterious disappearance over the past month. Harry had noticed it but he had not voiced his concerns. He himself had been too preoccupied with his other commitments and Ron that he felt it would be unfair to question her about her whereabouts. It was after all, Harry, who had neglected her first. That was about to change, Harry decided.

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"I told you, Ron, but you had refused to accept it," Hermione was saying, "or perhaps that thick head of yours was simply impenetratable."

Most of the seventh years were lazing around in the common room, either trying to catch up on unfinished homework, or playing exploding snaps. It was a Saturday night and most of them had spent the entire day lying on the hearth rug by the fireplace because the day was too foggy for Quidditch.

"You should have dropped Divination with me in the fourth year," she continued relentlessly. "You didn't and now you're still going to take NEWTS. I can't believe you!"

"It was different. You dropped it because Trelawney was a sham. Now we have Firenze. A centaur is an expert at predictions!" Ron argued.

"I did not drop because of that bogus," Hermione stated, "I dropped because divination is a useless subject. Have you ever considered what career path you'll be taking when you leave school? Unless you plan to become a seer, which to my knowledge, is only born not made, Divination is just rubbish."

"Right, and History is important," said Ron sarcastically, "or did you only take that because it's boring Viktor Krum's favourite subject?"

"Ronald Weasley, how many times must we go through this? I could not possibly told Viktor not to come during New Year. It would have sounded rude!" Hermione flared.

"I wasn't even talking about that," Ron shot back.

"You were," said Hermione, "at least you were thinking about it."

Ron opened his mouth to protest but Harry cut them in.

"Enough of your bickering already! I've had enough! Can't you two just shut up for a minute?" he said angrily. His scar was throbbing painfully and all he wanted was to finish up his stupid Divination essay and go back to sleep.

Ron clamped his mouth shut while Hermione just crossed her arms across her chest, a frown on her face.

"That's it, I'm going to bed," she said. She stormed up to the Gryffindor dorm with Ron and Janieve gaping after her.

"What is up with her?" Ron asked to no one in particular.

"Well, I actually think she has a point," spoke Janieve, "you wouldn't be trying so hard to finish your Divination homework if you had dropped that useless subject."

"But I… She…." Ron was at a loss for words. "Harry, help me out here!"

Great, now he's resuming the banter with Janny and he just dragged me into it, Harry thought dryly.

"You know, it would help if you just keep your mouth shut and actually try to write something," Harry said.

Ron looked at Harry incredulously. "I'll do them tomorrow when there's no distraction," he said finally, "I'm hitting the pillow too."

"Goodnight Ron," Harry said curtly. The Gryffindor common room was emptying fast. Soon, there were only Harry and Janieve.

"You okay?" she asked.

Harry gave her a sheepish grin, "I am, now. Finally some alone time with you."

Janieve swat at him but he ducked.

"Honestly Janny, I missed you," he said. He began massaging her back.

"Harry I can't," she said as she shrugged his hands off.

"Why not? You weren't even doing anything. You were just reading. Surely you were waiting for me?" Harry asked.

"Harry, what about your Divination?"

"That can wait," he said and it was the truth. He still had tomorrow to finish them but he had not been so near Janieve all alone for weeks. He needed to know that she had missed him too.

"We could go up to my dorm," he suggested, "I just want to sleep with you in my arms." He was almost begging now. The meeting with Narcissa had left him quite insecure.

"Harry I'm tired," she said apologetically. Harry studied her. She did not look like she was lying. In fact, she really looked like she needed sleep. Dark circles were visible under her eyes and her complexion had lost the usual lustre he knew was there when he had first met her.

"We'll just sleep. I promise," he said.

"You know we won't," she replied tiredly and Harry knew she was right. Who could blame him? He was sixteen, quickly growing into a man, and he missed his girlfriend. But when he spoke, he spoke in the interest of Janieve again.

"Alright then. But I really missed you."

"I know, Harry. I do too."

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Janieve felt bad for lying to Harry. _It has to be done,_ she told herself the eighth time that night. She had snuck out of the Gryffindor tower after Harry had gone to bed and she was walking quickly out of Hogwarts castle and towards Hagrid's hut.

"Hagrid!" she rapped softly on Hagrid's wooden door. She heard Fang's bark and Hagrid's shushing and then the door clicked open.

"Janieve!" he exclaimed quietly in surprise. "I swear Harry's rules breakin' nature is rubbin' off on you!"

Janieve smiled. She sat down on one of Hagrid's stool as he poured her a warm mug of tea.

"Hagrid, have you been visiting Grawp?" she asked.

"Hell no, Janieve! Dumbledore said he would kick me out of Hogwarts if I does an' I thin' this time he meant business," he answered. "Great man, he is, tha' Dumbledore, but he can get a lil protective."

"Like Harry," said Janieve softly.

"Like Harry," he repeated. "I missed Grawp though," he said sadly, "wonder if he's doing fine."

"Hagrid, I want to visit him," Janieve said. Hagrid looked at her, his face suddenly angry.

"No Janny," he said, "I made a mis'ake once and tha' almost cost Harry his life. I'm not lettin' you do somethin' like tha'."

"But I am the most suitable person to enter the forbidden forest now. I can go in my Killet form and the Centaurs would not stop me. Not that they can, I would be too fast for them," Janieve reasoned.

"No Janny, for Merlin's sake, no!" Hagrid was yelling now. Then in a calmer voice, he spoke, "So wha' if you gets to Grawp unharmed? How is you goin' to talk to him? He does not knows you. He is goin' to attack you!"

"Hagrid, it worth a try," she said.

"Janieve, no and I mean no. 'hat's that. No more buts. Now, I thin' it's better if you leave," Hagrid said in an I-mean-business tone. He got up and opened the hut's door for Janieve.

Janieve got up and left Hagrid's. She might not have been able to persuade Hagrid to agree with her, but it had not meant she was going to just let it go. She had every intention of going into the Forbidden Forest whether he liked it or not.

She pretended to walk up to the castle but quickly slipped into the Forbidden Forest when she was sure Hagrid was not looking. Harry had once told her that Dumbledore had tried to make Giants their ally but had failed to do so. If there was any hope at all, Grawp was the one and Janieve was adamant about that. She knew that she had to communicate with Grawp, not only for the sake of that, but also to fulfil a promise she had made to her fellow kind.

She changed into her Killet form and plunged deeper into the forest. She had no idea where Grawp was for she had never ever been to the forest before. But her night vision was a great asset to her advantage. She could see clearly every movement amongst the trees, even clearer than most of her fellow wizards and witches could in the daylight.

She thought she had people talking in hushed tones as she jumped over a huge protruding root. She paused and listened. There were indeed whisperings. She darted her eyes around for any sign of life but forest was completely still except for the occasional rustle of wind against leaves. But the whispering was unmistakeable and they seemed to have got louder. Janieve concentrated hard.

No, it can't be, she thought, the trees can't be talking. But that seemed like the most probable explanation despite the absurdity of the possibility. The trees were talking to each other in low, odd, rasping sounds. Janieve had never heard trees talked before and she realised in amazement that even the organic creatures had a tongue of their own.

She listened on curiously as she continued her search for the Giant even though she could not understand a single word of it. If they even could be considered words. Janieve stopped abruptly before an odd looking boulder. Her gaze flickered upwards and she realised to her horror that the odd looking boulder was actually the toes of who Janieve believed to be Grawp.

Janieve immediately transformed into human form. It did little to reduce the relative size of Grawp's compared to hers. She had a sudden urge to run back the way she had came from but she stood rooted to the ground, be it from fear or from determination.

"Hi Grawp," she yelled up at him, her voice quivering slightly. The Giant let out a thunderous growl. Janieve hoped desperately that Grawp had already been fed.

"I'm Hagrid's friend," she said.

"Hagger!" Grawp roared again, his low rumbling voice shook the earth beneath them. Janieve staggered backwards at the quake but she forced herself to speak again.

"I'm Janny." She figured that Janny would be an easier name than Janieve.

"Grawp anger! Grawp want Hagger!"

"Sorry Grawp, but Hagrid would not be able to visit you. The centaurs will attack him," Janieve said shakily. She wondered if Grawp would be able to understand what she had just told him.

Grawp bent over, his hands outstretched towards Janieve. Janieve considered running but Grawp caught her easily in his plum hand before she could make her decision. He moved her towards his face and paused just in front of his mouth.

Janieve was really frightened now. She tried to writhe out of his grip but it was impossible. The Giant had such a firm hold on her, Janieve was sure he was going to crush her ribs. Grawp opened his mouth and Janieve closed her eyes, a silent prayer escaped her lips. _Oh Lord, please don't eat me!_

"Hi Janny."

Janieve felt a gust of wind, which carried a foul stench, hit her face. However, they smell like relief to her. She snapped her eyes open and heaved a sigh.


	24. The Magic Carpet

I'm sooooo glad that you guys (and girls) liked the last few chapters. Well if something doesn't make sense to you now, I promise everything will come to light in the end. In fact, most of the things I put in the story contributes to the story at some point esp towards the ending… BUT! I'm not gonna divulge anything further than that… )

Chapter 24: The Magic Carpet

Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak from his drawer and crept back to the common room. He had gone back up to his dormitory after saying goodnight to Janieve. Somehow, he began wondering why Janieve had looked so tired. She had gone up to her dormitory earlier than Harry every night and she was usually up later than everyone else. There was only one explanation – she had sneaked out whenever the others were asleep. Harry wished fervently that he was wrong though.

He walked down the stairs towards the darkened common room. He saw a jerk of movement, a flash of violet lights, and the Gryffindor door swung shut. Harry's heart beat quickened as he hastened to catch up with Janieve.

He climbed through portrait hole and saw the swishing movement of Janieve's ponytail. He quickly wrapped the cloak over his head as she made a turn over a corridor. But as Harry turned down that corridor, she was nowhere in sight. _How could she be gone so quickly?_ He made yet another turn and another but she was not to be spotted.

_Well, she could be out for a walk,_ he reasoned with himself, _that did not necessarily meant she was working for Voldermort._ However, as much as he tried to coax himself into believing this was nothing, Harry couldn't help but found Janieve's recent peculiar behaviour suspicious.

Harry decided to head back to the Gryffindor tower and take his Marauders' Map. As he whipped around, he felt something grabbed his leg and began dragging him away from the Gryffindor tower.

Harry looked down and saw Dobby the house-elf.

"Dobby, let go!" he cried. "What are you trying to do?"

"Harry Potter sir must come with Dobby. Dobby has something to show you," he said urgently, still pulling at Harry's thigh and Harry slide little by little across the floor.

"What is it?" Harry asked. He wondered if this had something to do with Janieve.

"Just come with me sir!"

Harry managed to persuade Dobby to let go of him before following him to the painting of a bowl of fruits. It was the door to the kitchen. Dobby tickled the pear and the pear giggled and a door knob appeared on the painting. They entered the kitchen.

A dozen house-elves immediately swam to Harry. They pushed a chair under him and served him all sorts of delicacies. Harry refused them profusely.

"Harry Potter hadn't been coming to see Dobby," Dobby said accusingly. The other elves shook their heads in disapproval of Dobby's attitude.

"I'm sorry Harry Potter sir. Dobby wasn't blaming you sir. Dobby just missed Harry Potter and his friends," Dobby said quickly.

Harry suddenly realised that Dobby wasn't going to show him anything about Janieve and regretted coming with him. However, he noticed Dobby's large eyes looked down in sadness and he felt a pang of remorse. Dobby had been very nice and helpful to Harry over the past four years but Harry had never had a thought about him unless he needed his help.

"I'm sorry Dobby," Harry said, "I've been busy."

Dobby's face lit up and he thrust a yellowing package towards Harry. "For you sir," Dobby said, "Dobby thought Harry Potter would find it useful."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Your Christmas present!" Dobby squealed. "Dobby could not find Harry Potter during Christmas so I could not pass it to you earlier."

"Well, thank you Dobby," Harry said. He guessed that it was probably another of Dobby's colourful socks.

At a little past two in the morning, Harry crept up to the Gryffindor common room with his father's cloak over himself, while juggling over all kinds of pastries in his hands.

When he entered the Fat Lady Portrait, he saw a mane of black slipping up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

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Janieve woke up to feel someone watching over her. She reached for her wand and pointed it at her intruder.

"Expelliarmus!" she shouted.

The man was flung five feet away from her bed, his hands clutched tightly to a gigantic brown package,

"I'm sorry Harry!" Janieve cried. She jumped out of bed and ran towards Harry. Harry winced in pain as Janieve helped him to his feet.

"Your reflexes are getting quicker everyday," he muttered.

"I'm sorry Harry, I thought you were an attacker," she said apologetically. "How did you get up to the girls dormitories anyway?"

"I flew, of course," he said smugly.

"But what are you doing here?" Janieve asked.

"Obviously to see you," he replied.

"Why?" she probed.

"Do I need a reason to see you?" he asked.

"Well, no," she answered.

"However, I do actually have a reason for seeing you," Harry said mysteriously.

Janieve looked at him questioningly.

"Ta-da!" he said, presenting the long brown package in front of him with both hands.

Janieve smiled coyly. "What this?" she asked.

"Open it," he said, and she took the package from him. She unwrapped it gingerly and squealed in delight when she saw the content. It was a Nimbus 2005.

"When did you buy this?" she asked, smiling giddily.

"New year. During our Diagon Alley trip," he said. "I wanted to give it to you earlier but I haven't had a proper chance to do it. We hardly see each other nowadays."

Janieve shifted her gaze guiltily. "Can I try it?" she asked suddenly.

"Of course!" Harry replied.

Janieve dragged Harry down the Great Hall, out of the castle, and towards the Quidditch pitch. She was determined to spend some quality time with Harry and not let her guilt bogged down on her.

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"I'm actually quite surprise Voldermort hadn't been trying to harm anyone of us since before Christmas," said Ron. "Check mate," he added.

Harry looked despairingly as what remained of his Chess set. There was no way out of this. "Well, I'm just glad. But I can't help but worry what he's up to. He might just sprung up on us when we least expect it. It's unlike him to leave us alone," Harry said. "I give up." Harry watched his Kingdom eaten up by Ron's with mild fascination.

"Perhaps he's just too busy killing the muggles and recruiting dark creatures," Ron said confidently.

They began packing up the chest set. Harry went to lie on his bed while Ron laid sprawled on the floor beside Harry's bed.

"Time flies, doesn't it?" Ron said reminiscently. "I can still remember when we were in first year. Hermione really pissed us off then, didn't she? What this?"

"What's what?" Harry asked.

"This," Ron said and held up a yellowing package with a scrunched up nose that reminded Harry of Narcissa Malfoy.

"Oh that. It's a present from Dobby," Harry said carelessly.

"Why haven't you opened it?" Ron asked.

"You can do it for me," Harry said.

Ron tore the wrapper with one outstretched hand to reveal not socks but a mat. It was about five feet by three feet long with colourful threading.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

Ron scrutinised it for a moment before looking up at Harry with an incredulous look. "I think it's a Magic Carpet!"

"What?" Harry spluttered. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Apparently," Ron confirmed.

"Why did Dobby give this to me?" Harry asked.

"Beats me," Ron said. "You should throw it away."

"I don't know. It could come in handy," said Harry.

"Don't tell me you're even considering using it," cried Ron.

"I'm not. But that doesn't mean I won't," Harry said resolutely.

Harry quickly squeezed the carpet into the bottom of his drawer. Why Dobby had given him that was nowhere near comprehension to him. However, Dobby had always acted upon Harry's interest and Harry thought it was finally time to repay Dobby with trust.


	25. Quidditch with Ravenclaw

Awww the reviews are so sweet. Honestly, you guys are what keep me going. My exams are coming soon so I haven't been writing much. I have about 3 more chapts that I havent posted and hopefully that can keep u occupied till april 16 (that's the start ofmy summer break). I'm sorry if they are any spelling/grammar error because I really don't have the time to check. I promise everything will be better after the magic date and I'll post more. This story is ending soon but there'll be a sequel to it in the 7th year. I've already written it and I see myself finishing bothbefore JKR's halfblood prince.

Banjo: Sorry about the mixed up. I could not find a choice of OC in the 2nd character so I thought I'll just put the next major character in this (Hermione). I've removed it though, to prevent future mix up.

On with the story...

Chapter 25: Quidditch with Ravenclaw

Harry hardly touched his food at breakfast. The Quidditch trophy was so close by, yet it seemed as though any mistake on his part would reduce his chances to none. His team had trained hard. They would be playing against Ravenclaw, the house known for their fairness, so there was no risk of foul play, unlike if they had played against Slytherin. He knew that Professor McGonagall would be more than glad to have the trophy back in her office.

Harry was not the only quiet one. The boys seemed to have lapsed into silence as they felt the pressure on them. Ginny and Janieve appeared to be the only ones who didn't seem nervous. They were helping each other to braid an identical hairstyle.

"I'll break your neck if you decide to act gentlemen and let Cho catch the snitch, Harry," Ginny said.

"You don't have to worry about that, Ginny," replied Harry hastily while casting worried glances at Janieve. Janieve smirked. "I want the trophy as bad as you do," he said.

They reached the lockers and dumped their gym bags and stuff around the Gryffindor area. Janieve unclasped her broom case that Ginny and the twins had given her for her birthday and found it empty. The Nimbus 2005 was gone.

"My broom is gone!" Janieve announced.

"Did you forget to put them in the case?" Harry queried.

"No, I'm sure I put them in before I went to sleep last night," said Janieve impatiently, "Someone must have taken it!"

"Calm down," Ginny said, "We'll just have to summon it."

"Anyone has a wand?" asked Seamus. Everyone looked around and finally Hermione spoke up.

"I do," she said. She took out her wand and summoned the broom.

Seconds passed. Then a minute. But there was no sign of the broom.

"Do you think anyone might have stolen it?" suggested Dean. "A Nimbus 2005 is not exactly cheap."

Before anyone could answer, the object in question came hurtling through the air towards Hermione's waiting arms. When they crashed into her, they disappeared along with Hermione.

"What the…" Ron said.

"Where did she go?" asked Dean. No one answered him.

"We have to find Professor Dumbledore," said Harry finally.

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"What do you mean she just disappeared?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"That she just vanished from thin air, become nothing, null, nil, void, whatever," said Ron rudely. It was unlike Ron to speak to a teacher in that manner. But it was unusual for Hermione to disappear just like that.

Harry himself was getting impatient with his house head. She kept asking them what they meant by Hermione disappearing. If they had an answer, they wouldn't be looking for Professor Dumbledore.

And what was taking their headmaster so long. Someone had been instructed to inform him since what felt like hours ago. Harry had a really bad feeling about Hermione's disappearance. People are not supposed to be transported out of Hogwarts just like that. She could be in danger and they ought to stop wasting time talking about it, but rather act on it.

"Nobody can just disappear out of thin air on Hogwarts ground, Mr. Weasley. There is an ancient charm placed upon the castle which disallows any teleporting or apparition," said McGonagall calmly.

"I don't care about what ancient charm there is. The fact is we SAW Hermione disappear before our eyes when she came into contact with the broom," said Ron exasperatedly.

"Professor Dumbledore!" shouted Janieve, who had been awfully quiet the whole time.

Harry looked up and saw Professor Dumbledore striding painfully slowly up to them.

"Minerva," he said.

"Albus, they are saying that Miss Granger disappeared on the grounds of Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. Dumbledore put up a hand to stop her.

"Miss Chang had told me about it," he said.

"Whose broom was it?" he asked.

"Mine," came a soft timid voice which Harry recognised without even having to look at its source.

If Dumbledore was surprised by this, he was hiding it well. On the contrary, he appeared to have expected that.

"Minerva, could you please inform the school that the Quidditch match had been called off and make sure that everyone stays in their common room until further notice," he said seriously. He then turned to Janieve and said, "Jan, would you please come with me to my office?"

Janieve nodded meekly.

Harry watched as the two disappeared behind the castle while Professor McGonagall gave orders for them to head back to their respective common room. Among the commotion, Harry managed to catch a glimpse of Janieve before she left and he did not like what he saw. Was it guilt on her face?

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Janieve felt a sense of déjà vu as she sat across her headmaster and waited for what he was about to unleash on her, like the time he did when she found the Mirror of Erised.

"Janieve," he began.

Janieve raised her eyes tentatively to meet his wise blue ones. She was surprised to see sympathy rather than accusation in them.

"It was my fault," she cut in before her headmaster could say anything. "It was supposed to be me."

"You do know where she was taken?" Dumbledore asked.

Janieve made not the slightest of movement or noise.

"You know where she is, don't you?" he repeated.

"I don't know. But Voldermort had taken her, hadn't he? It was Voldermort, wasn't it?" she asked.

"And you think he had wanted to take you?" Professor Dumbledore questioned.

"Why don't you tell me? You know the answer already don't you?" Janieve snapped.

"Perhaps. But it is more important for you to realise the seriousness of this matter. If it was indeed Voldermort who is behind all of this, then you and your friends are in greater danger than you might realise," he replied.

"What does he want from me?" Janieve asked perturbed.

Professor Dumbledore surveyed her, as if deciding if she was worthy of knowing the truth. "We don't know," he said.

Janieve stood up abruptly. Obviously Professor Dumbledore was hiding something from her. She had learnt over the years that her instincts hardly fail her even if she might not believe in them most of the time.

"Will Hermione be okay?" Janieve asked.

"We'll find her," assured Professor Dumbledore.

Janieve was halfway out the door when her headmaster's voice called after her. Janieve paused.

"Promise me, Janieve, that you'll not take matters into your own hand," he said. Without replying or a look over her shoulder, Janieve left the office.


	26. Old Suspicions

Author is not posting anymore. Author is gonna hide from butlerphan666.

Just kidding.

Anyway, what can I say? I can't tell you whether you're right or not because then, I'm spoiling all the fun for you, am I not? Hehe this is afterall under the genre: mystery/action/romance. So all you can do is sit back and enjoy whatever evil plot I've planned for you muahahah!

Chapter 26: Old Suspicions

As Janieve crept up the winding stairway to the Gryffindor tower later that evening, her mind was a million miles away.

"Sauerkrauts," she whispered to the Fat Lady. The Fat Lady who seemed to her noted her solemn swung the door open for her without a word, which Janieve was grateful for. She was in no mood for small talk.

When she climbed through the opening into the common room, six pairs of Gryffindor eyes met hers. She halted.

They probably want to know what happened to Hermione. Sighing inwardly, she spoke, "Voldermort got her." A few gasp were heard.

"We know," Neville said softly.

Janieve looked at him puzzled.

"Harry had another of those visions just now," he added quietly.

"What? What did you see? Where is she?" Janieve asked Harry hurriedly.

"Shouldn't we be asking you that?" Ron cut in.

Janieve snapped her head back to face Ron.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded. She looked around at everyone else who all had straight faces on. She suddenly had an idea what Ron was talking about.

"So what does Voldermort want from Hermione?" Ron said sarcastically.

"Ron, that's enough," Harry snapped.

"No it's okay. I'm sorry Ron. It's my fault," Janieve said.

Harry's jaw dropped and he turned to stare at Janieve.

"So it was you!" Ginny exclaimed. "We trusted you!"

"I'm sorry," Janieve said morosely, "It should have been me. It was my broom."

"Wait," Harry said suddenly, "so it wasn't you who set Hermione up?"

Janieve was the surprise one now. Her surprise was however, quickly replaced by anger. "What do you mean so I wasn't the one who set Hermione up?" she asked. Her voice got louder she was almost shouting when she said, "Did you guys actually think I was the one who sent Hermione to Voldermort!"

Ron snorted. "Come on, cut the act," he said derisively.

"I can't believe you'd actually think such a thing of me," Janieve told him.

"Not everyone here is called a Lestrange," Ron said.

His words stung her, but probably not as much as what was about to come next.

She looked around for support but found none. She looked at Harry pointedly.

"You don't think I did it too, do you?" Janieve asked.

"What?" she barked at him when he remained quiet.

Harry shrugged. "You've been acting kind of weird recently. Always disappearing and all."

She could not believe her ears.

"Hermione trusted you. We all did."

This time it came from Ginny.

Janieve drew in a deep breath to compose herself. Her lips trembled dangerous but she was adamant not to show any sign of weakness.

"If you really trusted me," Janieve said, "I wouldn't be standing here with all these accusing fingers pointing at me. If you really trusted me, you'd be worried for me because it had been _my_ broom. It might have been _me_ that Voldermort was after. But apparently I'm still Janieve Lestrange to you, not Janny."

She gave Ron, Neville, Seamus, Dean, Ginny and Harry one last look each before climbing up the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories.

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Harry hardly slept a wink last night. Between feeling worried for Hermione, he found himself debating Janieve's position. Did she really work for Voldermort, as what Narcissa Malfoy had warned Harry about? Or could it be Voldermort's plan to make Janieve looked like the culprit of Hermione's captivity? Perhaps Voldermort had let Harry had that glimpse of Hermione looking lost in an old creepy room on purpose. He wanted Harry to suspect Janieve. But why? Why did Voldermort want to sow discord between them? It doesn't make any sense. Or had it been exactly Janieve had predicted. Voldermort had actually wanted to transport Janieve but Hermione had touched the portkey instead. If that was the case, then what again do Voldermort want from Janieve?

Harry rolled to his side and stared at the photo he had taken with Janieve merely weeks ago. Her black bambi eyes twinkled with a tint of purple. The violet colour had slowly faded out over the months.

If Janieve had been the one Voldermort wanted, Harry thought, then wasn't she in a lot of danger? In his heart of heart, he definitely did not believe Janieve was a traitor. Or did he not want to believe? He pondered. Maybe a bit of both. Janieve may be quite stubborn at times, but there was nothing bad in her, albeit her parentage. But that was a different matter altogether. Harry also did not want to believe that the girl he had shared such intimacy with, both physically and spiritually, could have been playing him.

When morning came, Harry finally came to a decision – to apologise to Janieve.

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"Just think about it Ron. If she had wanted to harm Hermione, she could have done it without our presence. She could even have made Ginny's broomstick the portkey and planned for Hermione to take it so she wouldn't have been made the suspect. There are too many things that don't make sense here," said Harry.

"The only thing that don't make sense here is," replied Ron cynically, "how did that traitor had you bewitched? She doesn't have Veela blood in her does she?"

Harry sighed exasperatedly. He had been debating in circles with Ron the entire morning and Ron's stubbornness was irritating Harry no end. How could he get this in his best friend's head?

"Ron, I know you're worried about Hermione but I need you to be rational about this," Harry said.

"You are confused because you are infatuated with that Lestrange woman. Her mother killed Sirius remember?" Ron said loudly.

"Why are you talking about this? They are two separate matters," Harry replied even loudly.

"They are not separate matters! It all runs in their blood! They are all evil! Look what they did to Neville's parents!" Ron yelled angrily.

"It wasn't Janieve's fault! You know something about you Ron? You always jump to the conclusion and think you're right about it! But the truth is you don't know anything at all! You were the same during the Triwizard competition! Start growing up, WILL YA!" Harry shouted back, his veins visible along his neck.

"If you think you're so goddamnit mature, then stop talking to me!" Ron huffed.

"Fine!" Harry barked.

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"Lestrange."

Janieve spun around. "Malfoy," she said tonelessly.

"Is it true, what they're saying?" he asked.

"Excuse me? I don't think I know what you're talking about," Janieve said.

"That you're working for the Dark Lord and that you sent that mudblood to him?" he asked.

"So what if I did?" Janieve replied, fuming. How dare he come and provoke her first thing in the morning. It was bad enough having her friends accusing her but having Malfoy rubbing it in her face? It had to sap every ounce of her energy to stop herself from jinxing him.

"If you did, then I want to congratulate you for such a good job. It's about time someone got rid of that filthy mudblood," he said that carelessly but Janieve could tell he was surveying her with interest.

Janieve narrowed her eyes at him with dislike.

"I didn't know you had that in you," Malfoy said, somewhat impressed, "You should have been in Slytherin."

Janieve was about to correct Malfoy's misconception about Janieve working for the Dark Lord but thought the better of it. It should not hurt to have a resourceful person like Malfoy on her side now. In fact, it could prove useful if she played her game well.

"The hat did consider putting me in Slytherin," Janieve said, choosing her words carefully, "but of course I had to persuade it otherwise. It was my only chance to get close to Potter."

"You're a good actress," Malfoy said and Janieve thought she had blown it. But he went on to say, "You had me fooled. I thought you were indeed smitten with scar-head."

"Of course, that's only why the Dark Lord thinks so highly of me," Janieve said haughtily. Janieve knew that Malfoy was prohibited from becoming a Death Eater because his father thought he was not ready and Janieve decided to use that knowledge to play to her strength. Perhaps, she could make him reveal Hermione's whereabouts.

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Harry could not believe his ears. He felt the ground beneath him spun and his visions swum. Janieve had admitted to Malfoy that she was indeed working under Voldermort's order. It couldn't be true. But that was exactly what she had said. She had no reason to lie about it.

Harry grabbed the wall for support. He felt like throwing up. The girl he had loved had been putting on an act all this while. He had been used and he had thought he was the luckiest man on this earth. Was he sick?

No, he wasn't. She was. She had been the liar. She had through unscrupulous means forced herself in Gryffindor and into Harry's world. Harry had accepted her so readily, trusting her with his friends but she had turned around and betrayed his trust.

A wave of guilt knocked Harry over. He had led that sheep in wolf's clothing into his life. He had placed Hermione in danger because of his own stupidity. He had just fallen off with his best friend because he had been too blind to see. All because of Janieve Lestrange.

But it won't happen again, Harry vowed to himself, it won't.


	27. Allying with the Enemy

Hahaha don't worry I will keep posting even if you decide to hunt me down and gut me like a fish. I love all the reviews too much to stop. They make my day.

Anyway just want to address some issues. Ron and Hermione are not together YET... And I'm not really sure if they will end up together. I mean I kind of like the idea but... well I'm still thinking about it. But for now, Ron really likes Hermione (and I believe Hermione likes him too) and hence he's really worried about her.

Now, on with the story. Oh and keep the reviews coming. I love them!

Chapter 27: Allying with the Enemy

Janieve crushed the third piece of parchment in frustration. Her transfiguration homework was going nowhere with her current state of mind. It had been three days since Hermione's disappearance and Janieve had not heard from her headmaster or anyone for that matter. The whole school had treated her like dirt and not a single person believed in her innocence. Unable to contain the hurt she felt when faced with all the look of hatred threw at her by her fellow house mates, Janieve had sought refuge by a corner of the lake during her lunch break. She realised with a pang that if Hermione was here, at least there would be one who would trust her.

Someone dropped a packet of sandwich onto Janieve's lap and she looked up to see, with surprise, a Draco Malfoy.

Janieve was even more surprised when he said, "I noticed you did not have lunch with you."

Janieve eyed him suspiciously, which caused Malfoy to replace his neutral expression with a nasty one. "What?" he demanded, "Just because I don't agree with Harry Potter and those who associates with him doesn't mean I can't be nice to those on my side."

"Nothing. I'm just not used to seeing this side of you, that's all," Janieve replied coolly. She lifted the sandwich and took a large bite.

"Have anyone told you that the way you eat is revolting," Malfoy sneered.

Janieve ignored him and took another large bite out of her lunch. Malfoy stared at her with an upturned nose as she licked the juice off her fingers when she was done.

"So what do you want from me?" Janieve asked, finally acknowledging Malfoy's presence.

"What are you talking about?" Malfoy said slyly.

"Come on Malfoy, no matter what you say, we both know you're not a nice person," Janieve said flatly.

"Then you obviously don't know me well enough," Malfoy countered.

"Thanks for you lunch then. Bye," Janieve replied. She jumped to her feet and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Janieve smirked and turned to look at him with satisfaction.

"We are both in the same class for Snape's lesson. Let's go together," said Malfoy, this time the smirk on his face.

Janieve was still trying to recover from shock as Malfoy dragged her towards the school by her arms. She had almost been sure Malfoy was going to ask a favour from her. Apparently, he was not as readable as Janieve had thought he was.

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Harry's jaw nearly dropped when Janieve stepped into Snape's dungeon with Malfoy by her arms. Although this was not the first time Harry had seen her with him but to see them on friendly terms in front of everyone was something new.

"I told you, Harry," Ron had whispered to him. Harry and Ron had made things up yesterday. Harry had apologised to Ron while Ron had forgiven him readily. Harry had however left out what he had overheard Janieve said to Malfoy. He figured that would only agitate Ron further and not make the situation any better.

By the end of the lesson, Harry felt any sense of good feeling he might have towards Janieve at the start of the year dissipated. She had sat with the Slytherin crowd during Potions and kept whispering quietly but noticeably in each others' ears. To make matters worse, Snape had picked on Harry twice than he usually did and Harry had blamed it on Janieve unjustifiably.

As Harry walked back to the Gryffindor tower after dinner that night, he was surer than ever that Janieve was the culprit to Hermione's disappearance and he knew the only way to find out where Hermione was, was to tail and spy on Janieve.

When the students in the common room began to thin out, Harry went back to his dorm to retrieve his father's cloak. He stayed under the cloak even after everyone had gone back to bed.

As Harry had predicted, Janieve crept down the stairs leading to the girls' dorm at a little after midnight. She slipped stealthily out of the door and Harry followed suit without wasting time.

He followed her down the corridor and as he made a turn, he, once again, lost sight of her. Harry almost stamped his feet down in frustration. However, he stopped himself in time when he heard someone talking.

"You've got the mark! You are a Death Eater!" said a male voice.

"No please calm down. Listen to me!" said a female voice.

"No I'm going to tell Dumbledore. He trusted you but I warned him. I warned him but he didn't believe me. I know! You are the one that placed the portkey spell on the broom!" said the man.

"No wait!" she shouted.

Harry swerved to the side just in time before Snape collided into him. Harry looked behind him at Snape's quickly retreating form when he felt someone knocked him down.

"Ouch… Who's there?" said Florence Winter.

Harry placed his palm over his mouth to preventing himself for gasping. Florence made a wild grab for Harry as he picked himself up as fast as he could.

"Harry!" Florence cried when she pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. Harry stood up straight and felt for his wand in his pocket.

"Get away from me you filthy Death Eater," Harry spat, his wand pointed at her. "And I thought Janieve was the traitor.

"No Harry, please listen to me. I did not send Miss Granger to the Dark Lord," she explained.

"Of course you did not. You'd wanted to send Janieve instead," Harry said angrily.

"You're mistaken Harry. I don't work for the Dark Lord," Florence said.

"Snape says you've got the dark mark," Harry stated.

"Yes I have the dark mark but that was all in the past," she replied.

"You think I'd believe you?" Harry said sarcastically.

"Yes, if you give me time to prove to you," she answered confidently.

"How?" Harry asked.

"Come to my office and I'll show you everything," said Florence.

Harry hesitated. It would be really stupid to follow her to her office. Who knows what she might do to him then. But she sounded really genuine and Harry was pretty sure if it came down to a one to one duel, he would win her. Besides, Snape had already gone to Dumbledore, they would definitely be looking for her.

"Okay," he replied.

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Janieve walked towards the room of the requirement and saw a door already in place. She gently pushed open the door and walked in cautiously. The room was bare except for the serpents carvings on the otherwise black walls and a few rows of blood red curtains that ran parallel to the length of the room.

"Malfoy?" she called. She drew back the curtains nearest to her and felt a slight pricking feeling on her neck.

"Puntio!"

Janieve leapt out of the way as a jet of red light narrowly missed her shoulders.

"Impressive," said Draco Malfoy as he emerged from one of the curtains.

"What? Were you trying to hex me?" Janieve demanded angrily.

"No. I was merely testing your reflexes," Draco said smugly.

"What does the spell do anyway?" Janieve asked.

"Basically gives a kick in the place where it'll hurt the person most," replied Draco.

Janieve gave him a sly look and he quickly added, "Don't you even think about it."

Janieve smirked. "I'll think about what I want to think about," she informed him. "What did you asked me here for?" Janieve added before Draco could think of a comeback.

At that, Malfoy's face lit up excitedly. "Thought something might interest you," he said mysteriously.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Patience my dear," he replied.

"I don't really have all the patience in the world, Malfoy," said Janieve wanly. "Either you show them to me now or I'm leaving."

"What a feisty temper," commented Draco, "it's no wonder mother always say the Lestranges are an obstinate pair." He reached into his pocket and withdrew from it a spherical object made of a dark glassy material. He held it out to her.

"What's this…" Janieve asked as she bent over slightly to survey the intriguing object. Changing images seemed to be floating inside the ball. On a closer look, Janieve realised with a sick feeling that the moving images were actually memories of deaths committed by the Death Eaters. Her stomach gave a queasy lurch.

"It's a pensieve orb. I stole this from my father's room over Christmas. Apparently, my father and his associates had made this orb to remember the good times," Malfoy said with a conceited look and Janieve felt like smashing the orb against his face.

How sick can the Death Eaters get? She wondered.

"That's very… interesting," she said slowly, "Anyway, is this all you've asked me here for?"

"What do you mean is this all?" Malfoy seethed. "Don't you find this brilliant? I want you to have it."

"What for?" Janieve asked incredulously. "Besides, doesn't it belong to your father?"

"Yes but he won't notice. Just take it," he said and thrust it into her hands.

Janieve pushed it back to him. "No."

"Take it!"

"NO!"

_Prang!_

"Look what you've done!" yelled Draco.

"I'm sorry!" Janieve said though she really was not sorry.

The orb had shattered into a million pieces on the ground and the images had dissipated into clouds and slowly vanished into thin air.

Draco stared at Janieve furiously. He grabbed her shoulders and rammed her back against the wall. Janieve felt a fragment of fear as she saw the anger in his cold blue eyes. However, he suddenly leaned towards her face and pressed his lips against her.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!" Janieve exclaimed as she bit his lips and shove him away.

Draco merely wiped the trickle of blood away from his lips with the back of his hand.

"Good bye Malfoy," Janieve said coldly and she turned to leave.

"No one says no to Draco Malfoy."

Janieve felt herself being flung across the room and crashed into the curtains which she dragged down with her as she fell.

"I said no one says no to Draco Malfoy!"

Janieve stood up shakily and spun around to face him. "Diffindo!"

The side of Malfoy's arms slit open to reveal his flesh and blood. "Crucio!" he yelled.

Janieve felt a terrible sense of pain hit her and she collapsed on the floor in spasm.

"Incarcerous!" Janieve yelled when she recovered her senses. Thick ropes shot out from Janieve's wand and bound Malfoy's limps to his side. He struggled to release himself and Janieve made use of his distraction to switch into her Killet form and slipped out of the room.

She remained in her Killet form until she finally returned to the Gryffindor common room safely. She collapsed onto the couch, still shaky from the Cruciatus spell and fell into a daze.

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As Harry lay to sleep that night, he could not forget what he had seen in Professor Winter's office.

"_Attack me, Harry," she said._

"_Huh?" said Harry._

"_Attack me with Legilimency. I know you have been learning it from Professor Dumbledore. Attack me with Legilimency and I'll show you what happened more than fifteen years ago," Professor Winter explained. She closed her eyes and stood in front of Harry motionlessly._

_Harry lifted his wand cautiously. "Legilimens!" he shouted._

_Harry saw his Godfather, Sirius Black yelling at Florence Winter. She merely walked away from him. Her eyes that were brimming with tears were veiled from him by her long brown hair. Then, he saw thirty over hooded figures working in a massive laboratory. Green, blue, orange substances were boiling in rows and rows of cauldrons. Harry realised with a start that the hooded figure beside him was Professor Winter. The image suddenly disappeared and Harry saw Professor Winter collapsed on her knees before him._

Somehow, Professor Winter had felt responsible for Snape joining the Death Eaters. Before Snape had found out about her and Sirius, he had the same distaste for Voldermort as she had. He only began working for Voldermort after he found out about them. Hence, she had joined the Death Eaters after she had graduated from Hogwarts to look for Professor Snape.

But apparently, there were many divisions under Voldermort. They had found her a talent in Potions and had sent her to work in the laboratories to concoct new weapons for the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, she did not get to see Snape at all during her five years stay with the Death Eaters.

Working for the Dark Lord is a one way road, Professor Winter had told Harry. There was no way out of being a Death Eater except choosing death itself. Fortunately for Professor Winter and many others, she had found the third way when Voldermort failed to kill Harry.

That was the reason Sirius and Florence did not end up together eventually because Sirius would never be able to accept someone who aliases herself with the Dark Wizards. The worst thing was, even though now the truth was finally out, Sirius would never ever get another chance to find out and correct his mistake.

Harry could not help wondering how many relationships had failed because of misunderstandings that were cleared too late and how many chances of a happy ending had been destroyed because of the vulnerability of the human race. If only he knew that he too, was making the same mistake.


	28. Of Dreams and Reality

So so so so sorry for taking so long for this chapter to come out. I've been so busy preparing for exams that I just could not find sufficient time to sit there and write a good chapter. This chapter is pretty short so I've posted 2 chapters at once so please forgive me okay? Also, I most probably won't have time to be online for the next few days but I'll most probably post again next Saturday so you don't have to keep checking, FYI.

Chapter 28: Of Dreams and Reality

Three days had lapsed since the Draco Malfoy incident. Janieve had made sure she was the last to enter a class and the first to leave after every lesson so that she did not have to face any confrontation or snide remarks from anyone. The time between the classes were devoted to hiding out in the bathroom.

She grabbed some food off the grand hall and headed back up to the Gryffindor tower by the evening. After dinner, she pulled out her drawer and rummaged around her undergarments. Finally, she removed a hand size vial. The red liquid gurgled as she gave it a little shake.

Janieve heard Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown came up to the girls dorm. She quickly slipped the vial into her robe pocket and pretended to be sleeping in bed. She needed to wait for everyone to be sleeping soundly in their bed before she could execute her plan. She pulled the covers up to her chin, closed her eyes and waited.

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"Dinner is so quiet nowadays," commented Ginny. No one responded.

Ron was poking his food and pushing them around his plate.

Harry hardly touched his food either. He looked over at the staff table. The seat which usually held Professor Winter had been empty for three days.

Ever since the night when Professor Snape and Harry found out about her Dark Mark, Harry had not seen her anywhere in school. Dumbledore had informed the students that their Potions lessons will be cancelled until further notice.

Had Dumbledore really discharged her from her duties after Snape had tell on her? Dumbledore definitely didn't seem like the kind. So where was she? That, Harry could only speculate.

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"Show yourselves," said Janieve. The hair on her skin bristled against the wind and she shivered ever so slightly.

Three pair of violet eyes stepped out of the darkness.

"Hi Tranquil, Speed, Magnis," greeted Janieve.

"Hi Janieve," replied Tranquil, "you said you've got what we want."

"And I supposed you've got what I want," said Janieve.

"Yes," Tranquil answered.

"Take me there then," said Janieve. She transformed into one of the Killets and rode alongside them into the darkness.

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_Growl._

Harry flipped over on the bed so that he was lying on his stomach. He wished fervently that he had eaten more during dinner. His unfilled stomach was distracting him so much he could hardly fall asleep. He heard the bed next to his squeaked under Ron's weight and he knew that he was not the only insomniac.

He debated sneaking to the kitchen and asking for some food from the house-elves. However, as hungry as he was, the thought of getting up on his feet was more than he could muster. Besides, pressing his stomach against the bed appeared to have made him feel less hungry.

Slowly and eventually, he drifted into a slumber.

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Janieve was not sure how far she had travelled. But she suspected it to be far from Hogwarts. As a Killet, she could move at least three times as fast as an ordinary person and she already felt like it had been hours since she last left the Forbidden Forest.

At long last, the three Killets ahead of her came to a halt. Janieve looked up. A dilapidated double-story house stood before her. The windows were boarded up and the door was completely hidden by ivy.

"She's inside," said Tranquil.

Janieve nodded. "You're not coming with me?" she asked.

"No, this is the farthest we're willing to go," Tranquil replied.

"Thank you for your help," Janieve said. She transformed back into human and removed the vial containing Grawp's blood from her pocket. She knelt next to Tranquil and tied it to her body with a sash.

"Bye," Tranquil said. The three Killets took off in the opposite direction.

Janieve stood up and glanced at one of the boarded up windows before she moved along to the back of the house. She found a door at the back and she let herself into the cavernous kitchen.

It was dark inside. Janieve could sense it. Thankfully, she could see very clearly in the dark with her purple eyes.

She walked out another door which led to the hall and began climbing the stairs. On the landing, Janieve turned right and strode down the passage. The door at the end was open and as Janieve approached it, she could see very clearly everything within.

There was a bare wooden desk against the wall and a matching wooden chair tucked neatly into it. The walls were washed with white paint but years of dirt had stained it to a dirty beige colour. In the corner was a messy stack of hay. But most importantly, sprawled in a heap on the middle of the floor was the friend Janieve had missed dearly – Hermione Granger.

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_Harry was immersed in the water. He kicked his way up to the surface and sucked in a refreshing breath of air. He recognised the pool that he was soaked in was the one in the prefect's bathroom. He heard giggles and he spun around. Cho Chang and Janieve were at the other end of the pool, laughing and splashing water at each other._

_Harry felt a hot flush crept up his face. At that moment, the girls noticed Harry and the grin on Janieve's face froze. She got out of the pool abruptly and walked towards the door._

"_Janieve wait!" Harry cried. He jumped out of the pool and chased after her. He followed her down the passage and saw her enter a room. He saw her knelt down in the middle of the room. It was then that Harry realised he was no longer in Hogwarts._

_He took a few more tentative steps towards Janieve and saw that she was shaking something, someone. The person's head lolled back and Harry saw unmistakably the face of Hermione Granger._

_A fury started growing within Harry. The anger grew and grew and exploded and he felt them replaced by triumph. The fruit of his labour was right before him. The fruit of what! His labour!_

"_Jan! Be careful!" Hermione choked in a half yell, half whisper kind of voice._

_Harry looked down at himself and became conscious of what he was doing. He was gripping his wand tightly in front of him and the wand was pointed right at Janieve, the killing curse at the tip of his tongue._

"NO!" Harry yelled as he sat up in his bed with a start.


	29. Localite

Chapter 29: Localite

"Harry! What's the matter, Harry?"

Ron leapt off his bed and scrambled towards Harry. Neville, Seamus, Dean and Ginny had also gathered around Harry, all looking both worried and puzzled.

"I saw Jan… and Hermione! Voldemort… Oh god!" Harry exclaimed. He scrambled out of bed and towards the exit.

"Harry, wait! Where are you going?"

Harry heard his friends yelling after him but he continued towards the door.

Oh god, I'll be too late, Harry realised with a sick feeling, I'll be too late by the time I reach them. Voldemort could have killed her already.

"Harry, did you see Hermione again?" Ron cried desperately after him, "Please say something."

"Yes I saw them. And I – no, Voldemort was going to kill her," Harry finally replied. However, his feet never ceased to move. He was practically jumping down three steps at once down the Gryffindor tower. He heard Ginny gasped from behind.

Ron pounced on Harry and hooked his neck by the nook of his elbow. "What do you mean? Voldemort was going to kill Hermione?" Ron demanded.

Harry had no choice but to stop and turn to face Ron. "No. Jan was there with Hermione and Voldemort was going to kill Jan," Harry answered impatiently.

Ron's worried face was replaced by relief. He began to snort. "Right," he said.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry demanded.

"Don't you see it Harry? Voldemort is trying to lure you to him again!" Ron declared happily. He was looking very pleased with himself.

"No, Ron. I felt it in him. He IS going to kill her!" Harry cried. Then he corrected himself in a soft whisper, "that is if he hadn't already. I need to find them."

"Harry, remember you thought Voldemort was going to kill Sirius last year but it turned out to be a ploy?" Neville reminded.

"Yeah," added Ginny, "Besides, how are you going to look for them? Do you know where they are?"

Harry would have jinxed them all if not for the sensibility in their words. Ginny was right, how was he going to find them? He had no idea where they are. He stood there quietly with his eyes squeezed shut. Concentrate, he ordered himself.

The place in his dreams looked vaguely familiar. But he was darn sure he had never been there before. Where was it!

"You're right. I need to find Dumbledore," Harry decided finally.

Ginny smiled in relief. "I'm coming with you," she said.

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Harry reached the gargoyle guarding Professor Dumbledore's office. He turned to the rest. "Does anyone know the password?" he asked.

They looked around at each other.

"Er…" Neville began, "Cashew nuts?"

The gargoyle remained unmoved.

"Jelly Beans?"

"Pock Pie!"

"Rotten eggs!"

"Chocolate mudpie!"

_Bam!_

Harry kicked the gargoyle in frustration. "Why won't you open, you ugly fiend!"

The gargoyle immediately sprang to life to the disbelief of everyone.

"I can't believe it," breathed Ron.

"Quick," Harry said as he led the way into the spiral stairways that lead to their headmaster's office. Harry knocked once with the brass knocker on the office door.

"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry called.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Ginny echoed.

"Could he be out?" Dean asked.

Harry gave the door a push and surprisingly, it gave way. The six of them spill into the room.

"Wow…" commented Seamus.

The room as suspected was void of any sign of life other than the six new occupants. Harry walked around and surveyed the dim room. He stopped in front of a portrait of a man sleeping in his chair.

"Phineas, where's Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked the man. "Phineas!"

The man remained in the same position and as if to prove that he indeed was sound asleep, he began to snore.

"Bloody hell!" Harry cursed angrily.

"What's this?" asked Neville. He picked up a silver chain and pendant embedded with a white opaque stone from Dumbledore's desk.

Ginny snatched the object from his hand and began to examine it. She then looked down at the desk and a look of comprehension dawned on her face.

"It's a Localite!" she exclaimed, her fingers tracing a piece of parchment on the table. As Harry moved closer to her, he realised that the piece of parchment was actually a map of England.

Ginny closed her eyes and held out the necklace in front of her. The necklace started swinging, slowly at first, in wide circles. Then it swung faster and faster in tight loops.

"Why isn't it working?" Ginny muttered after it oscillated for a few minutes. Finally, she slammed the necklace down.

"What is not working Gin?" asked Dean.

"This is a Localite. I read about them in The 101 Magical Items. It helps the bearer to locate a person that the bearer's heart wished for. I was thinking about Hermione when I held the Localite," Ginny explained.

"Let me give it a try," Harry said. He took the Localite from Ginny, held it out and concentrated hard.

The Localite started spinning again and the speed picked up within a few seconds. Harry's eyes furrowed in seriousness as he thought hard. Suddenly, he felt a downward tug on the Localite and his hand moved down with it. The white gem landed, but not fully resting, on top of the map.

Ginny leaned in closer to the map. "Little Hangleton?" Ginny murmured. The remaining five crowded around her.

"Where's Little Hangleton?" Seamus asked. "In sixteen years of my life in England, I've never heard of such a place."

"It's okay. We can navigate using the map," Dean suggested.

"Wait, Harry," Ginny asked, "how come it worked when you used it when it failed on me?"

"I was thinking about Janieve," Harry replied.

Everyone fell silent.

"It's okay. I'll look for her myself. I intended to do it alone anyway," Harry said.

"No Harry, we're coming with you no matter what," said Nevilled firmly, which astounded Harry.

"I can't let you do that. What if I'm wrong again? What if this is another of Voldemort's trick?" Harry cried.

"Then we'll fight him together," answered Ginny, "We fought together last year. We'll do it together this year."

Harry turned to Dean and Seamus. There was a flicker of hesitation but it was gone quickly.

"We're coming," they asserted.

"Alright," Harry conceded. "But we better hurry. We've wasted a lot of time already," he said.

"Are we going to use the Thestrals again?" Neville asked.

"We can't. That would mean going into the Forbidden Forest," Ginny reminded.

"We'll fly with our brooms," Harry said.

"No," Ron interjected, "We can use the magic carpet."


	30. His Hideout

Hey I'm back! Sorry for taking so long to post this.. Well actually it's not that long. It's only been a week. But sorry for leaving you hanging at this point of the story anyhow.

Once again, I want to thank everyone who had supported my story so far. Hope I won't disappoint you.

Er, also to address the review posted by. If you're still reading this, though I very much doubt so, thank you for pointing out a mistake I made. I went to check the Order of the Pheonix and indeed Voldemort had taken Bella with him out of the Ministry of Magic. I must have read it wrongly before so sorry about that. As for your second review, well I just want to ask you a question first. Have you ever written a fan fic? Coz if you have, you should know that it's not easy to add a new character into an existing story. All you can do is exploit all the loopholes in the original story and try to fit your plot in. It may seem a little weird for you now that Janieve is actually placed in 6th year without any prior knowledge of magic but trust me, I have a reason for that. Or rather, Dumbledore has a reason for that. I'm not really sure what you meant in some of the things you said but if you're implying (correct me if I'm wrong) that I'm doing an injustice to JKR, then well I'm sorry you feel that way but I'm not a genius like her and I never claimed that I was. If I even have half her talent, I would be writing my own story wouldn't I?

Now to the rest of you who had the decency to respect someone else's work: enjoy the story!

Chapter 30: His Hideout

"Hermione!"

Janieve rushed to the stationary form of her friend. "Hermione!" she called, shaking her friend by the arms. Hermione's eyes snapped open.

"Oh god Janny!" she croaked.

"We need to get out of here quickly. Can you walk?" Janieve asked hurriedly. She felt a tingling feeling at the back of her neck. They were inconspicuous at first but the tingle began to spread to her shoulders.

"Jan! Be careful!" Hermione choked in a strangled voice.

Janieve transformed into a Killet. She sprang on Hermione and knocked her backwards against the ground, the two missing the jet of red light narrowly.

Janieve went back to human form and stood up, slightly crouching, with her wand pointed at her attacker.

What met her eyes, however, nearly made her recoil in disgust. She heard Hermione let out a short gasp.

A tall hooded figure stood before them. Beyond the hood, though, there was no face, or nothing that resembled a face. The space which supposedly held his head appeared black and hollow. The only sign of life was a pair of long scarlet slits for eyes.

"Janieve Lestrange," he said in a cold raspy voice.

"Wh-what do you want from me?" Janieve said, her voice trembling slightly.

He laughed and it surprised Janieve that the creature before her was actually capable of laughing.

"I have to admit killing you wasn't easy," he said, "but not nearly as hard as it was killing Harry Potter. It's such a shame that he almost always nearly escaped unscathed. But not for long though. As soon as I finished you off, he'll be joining you shortly."

"Puntio!"

A jet of blue light emitted from the tip of Janieve's pearly white wand. The light hit Voldemort squarely on the chest and he stumbled back a few steps but that was as much as it did.

Voldemort laughed even harder now. "And I thought you were a threat," he mocked.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione shouted in the midst of his maniacal laughter. The spell hit and bounced off his head.

"I could have let you die an almost painless death," he hissed fiercely, while circling the girls slowly. "But your defiance is disappointing." His black cloak contacted against Janieve's bare flesh and she shivered involuntarily. He was circling them very slowly but the aura of fear and respect he commanded from them was intoxicating it made Janieve nauseous. No, not respect, just fear, Janieve corrected herself, filth like him did not deserve any respect.

"Really?" he spoke, pausing next to Janieve. "You will respect me whether you like it or not," he snarled. "Crucio!"

Both Hermione and Janieve collapsed on the floor and writhed in pain. The excruciating pain lasted for a whole five minutes though it felt like a lifetime to the girls. They shivered uncontrollably on the floor while the effects of the spell slowly wear off.

"You are so much like your parents," Voldemort said almost sadly. "Such loyalty to your subject. A pity though, you're not as wise as they are. Both of whom had the hindsight of the greater power."

"But since you've chosen your path," Voldemort went on, "you'll have to pay for it. Shall I grant you your death wish, dear Janieve? How about meeting your parents for the first…" he laughed, "and final time?"

"Rodolphus! Bellatrix!"

An attractive couple stepped into the room. It was then that Janieve noticed the presence of at least two dozens Death Eaters crowding the passage beyond the room. Janieve sneaked a backward glance and her heart sank at the sight of the boarded windows.

There was no way out.

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The ride on the magic carpet was unexpectedly enjoyable. It had more than enough space to accommodate the six of them. The only difficulty they encountered was manoeuvring it. They spent some fifteen minutes getting it to fly and yet another twenty to learn how to direct it.

"I think we're near," Ginny said, "maybe we should land."

They landed on a narrow, deserted road. A sign ahead read "Little Hangleton."

"There it is," said Seamus.

They trudged down the meandering track and into the village. The strong breeze caused resistance to their movements and their robes flapped wildly behind them. The wind whispered in their ears eerily. A cemetery was spotted a few miles down.

"I know this place!" Harry shouted suddenly.

How could he ever forget this place? The place where he had witnessed the resurrection of Voldemort two years ago? The very cemetery where Cedric Diggory's life ended?

"The cemetery ahead is where Tom Riddle was buried," Harry explained when the others looked at him questioningly. "I was brought here during the third task."

All of them nodded knowingly.

"So any idea where the girls are?" asked Ron, "This place is big."

"I'm not sure," Harry replied, "It looked like they were in a house or something."

"Well, let's just keep walking," Ginny said.

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"How wonderful indeed," Voldemort said in a snakelike voice, "The child reunites with her parents at long last!" He laughed cynically.

Janieve looked at the man and woman she knew were her parents. Mixed feelings boiled within her. Here are the two persons who gave life to her, yet she found it hard to garner any sense of goodwill towards them. If they had any conscience at all, they should be trying to protect their daughter from the villain before them. But all they did was to look on without any trace of emotion.

"Janieve," Rodolphus said, "my beloved daughter. Such a ravishing beauty. I see you at least inherit something good from your mother."

"Don't blame us, Janieve," Bellatrix said gloomily, "We had to do this. For the greater good."

"Greater good?" Janieve asked in disbelief. "You're actually going let this evil vile kill your daughter just because you're too cowardly to stand up against him?" she spat angrily.

_Slap._

"No one speaks of the Dark Lord like this," Bellatrix fumed.

The slap stung her face but it could not have come at a better time. It was sort of a reality call for Janieve. It somehow made her realised the precarious situation she was in. She knew she had to do something and she had to do it fast. If she failed to act wisely, she could land both her and Hermione in jeopardy. There was no counting on her so-called parents to help her.

"I am your daughter!" Janieve cried, bidding time. She gripped her wand tightly by her side.

"Trust us," Bellatrix said, "if we had a choice. The purification had to be done…"

At that moment, Janieve transfigured both her and Hermione into Killets.

"Hermione run!" Janieve yelled as she began scurrying through the legs of at least twenty Death Eaters. There was no room for turning back and Janieve could only pray that Hermione was right behind her. She leapt down the entire flight of stairs and landed gracefully. The kitchen was only a few feet away.

"Ahhh!"

Janieve stopped and turned back. A jet of light had hit Hermione and she was transformed back into human. The pause allowed the same spell to hit Janieve and she too, turned back into human.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione shouted. One of the hooded figure's limbs snapped together and toppled backward stiffly.

Another spell went flying in Janieve's direction and she ducked. "Expelliarmus!" she shouted. Three wands of her attackers flew in random path.

"Stupefy!" The spell hit one of the Death Eaters. Janieve spun around to see the source of the spell.

"Harry!" she shouted.

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Harry heard noise coming from a run-down house and immediately sprinted towards it, his friends following tightly behind. He tried kicking the front door down but it refused to budge.

"Let's go by the back," Dean suggested.

Through the kitchen window, Harry could see Janieve and Hermione fighting off at least twenty Death Eaters.

"Stupefy!" he shouted as he jinxed one of the Death Eaters about to attack Janieve from her side.

"Harry!" Janieve shouted.

The Death Eaters stopped attacking momentarily and the noise ceased.

"Harry Potter!" someone squealed and Harry saw that it was Peter Pettigrew. He let out a horrible cry and ran out of the kitchen back into the house.

"No master! Harry Potter is here!" Harry heard him saying. There was some mumbling and then the rat said, "No! It's dangerous! Master please! We'll take care of him!"

More mumblings and suddenly…

"Expelliarmus!" Janieve yelled. There was a loud explosive sound and the wand belonging to Lucius Malfoy flew out of his grip. The spell meant for Neville was released from Malfoy's wand and it narrowly missed Neville's head. It struck the tap and caused water to spurt in all directions.

"Thanks Jan," said Neville.

Janieve smiled at him genuinely. "You're welcomed," she mouthed.

There were a few more exchange of curses and the water continued spraying down on them from everywhere. It seemed to Harry that for every one Death Eaters they struck down, another two would come along.

Suddenly, a thin sheet of wall made of liquid formed between them and the Death Eaters. Janieve smiled at her companions.

"Quick, let's get out of here," she said. They escaped out of the house and ran towards the street. The road out of the village seemed longer than on the way in to Harry.

"Harry, where's the magic carpet?" Ginny shouted over the wind.

Before Harry could react, Ginny was struck down by a spell from behind. Harry whirled around and the first thing he saw was Bellatrix aiming her wand at Janieve. And Janieve, still running towards Harry, was not aware of it.


	31. Coming Clean

Chapter 31: Coming Clean

"Deflecto!" Harry yelled at the same time a jet of light escaped the tips of Bellatrix's wand.

A translucent red light emitted from Harry's wand and it formed a shield in the shape of a phoenix between Janieve and her mother.

The spell hit the shield and reflected back at Bellatrix. It hit her squarely on the chest, a look of surprise on her striking face, as her lips contorted into a silent "O" and gradually, as if in slow motion, she tumbled backwards.

"Bella!" Rodolphus screamed as he rushed forward to catch his wife. She fell stiffly into his arms and he shook her hard. "Bella!"

Harry heard someone yelling incoherently. The scream got louder and nearer until Harry realised that they actually came from his own mouth. His body convulsed as he dropped to his knees, his arms flailed wildly and his body flapped like a fish without water. He tried desperately to regain control over himself and all he succeeded in doing was to vomit his guts out.

Voldemort apparated before them, screaming like Harry had moments earlier.

"You killed my servant!" Voldemort hissed vehemently.

Harry felt weak from all the puking. His stomach was empty and his chest hurt from all the heaving. His tongue tasted sour. His mind was numbing quickly and he could barely hear the people screaming his name. He felt so exhausted that he thought if Voldemort was to kill him now, then so be it.

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Janieve whirled to see Bellatrix toppled over. Janieve's knees buckled and she fell on her bottoms.

"Harry!" Ron shouted. Janieve turned her head slightly to see Harry doubled over, throwing up. She felt like throwing up herself.

"No!" Hermione shouted. She was standing between Harry and Voldemort now. Voldemort swung his wand at her and she was flung a few feet away like a stumbling rock in his way.

Next, it was Ron. Then, Seamus. Then, Dean. Then, Neville.

Janieve felt paralysed with sick apprehension. The scene swirled before her eyes yet she found no strength to stop any of it.

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"Potter," Voldemort spoke coldly. "Potter, look at me."

Harry shook his head. His jet black hair was damp with perspiration and it clung to his forehead.

"I said look at me!" Voldemort gritted.

Harry's scar seared. "Ahh!" he cried in pain. He grabbed his head and looked up at Voldemort.

"Leave him alone!"

Harry looked over his shoulder and saw Lupin. Catching up on him were Kingsley, Arthur Weasley, Tonks, Bill, Amelia Bones, Moody, Emmeline Vance, Elphias Doge, Dedalus Diggle, Hestia Jones, Sturgis Podmore, and two other Harry recognised to be from the Order.

"Werewolf," Voldemort spat, "Who are you to stop me? You're just a dirty half-blood."

"And so are you," Lupin replied coolly.

"I only want the boy tonight," Voldemort hissed angrily.

"And you'll have to get through us first," Lupin answered. "Stupefy!"

Voldemort swerved to the left and the stunning spell missed him by an inch.

"Emmeline! Get the kids out of here!" Lupin yelled and ducked a spell from Voldemort. Moody went to Lupin's help while Mr. Weasley took on Lucius Malfoy. Tonks leapt away from a spell sent by Avery.

"Come on, Harry," Emmeline said to him. "Could you get the rest? I'll get Ginny."

"Hermione! You okay?" Harry asked as he helped her on her feet.

"I'm fine," she answered, "I'll get Ron."

Harry went over to Janieve, who sat in a daze amidst the jets of light shot back and forth. "Janny!" he shouted as he sprinted towards her with his head bent low. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"I- I don't know," she replied.

"Come on, we need to get out of here," Harry urged. He grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up. Harry walked unsteadily towards Hermione, Ron, Neville and Seamus. Janieve was practically leaning her entire weight on him. When he reached them, Emmeline had joined them with Dean and an unconscious Ginny.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ron asked worriedly.

"Yes. She was hit by a powerful stunning spell. But she will be fine." Emmeline informed him.

"What about them?" Hermione asked, gesturing at the Order members, "maybe we should stay to help?"

"No they can handle it," Emmeline said sternly, "Dumbledore's on his way."

"Now, we'll get out of here with this portkey," she told them, "Quick." They each held on to a part of a navy blue velvet covered book.

Harry felt the familiar tug and jerk of teleportation as he felt himself pulled out of Little Hangleton.

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"Harry will you please sit down?" Hermione pleaded.

Harry stopped pacing and sat on the couch next to Hermione. He began twiddling his thumb and shaking his legs. What if something happen to Lupin? Harry thought worriedly. What if something happen to anyone of them?

Hermione slapped a hand down on his legs. "They will be fine," she said, reading his thoughts. Harry gave her a feeble smile.

"Hermione, what happened after you were captured? Did they hurt you?" Ron asked.

"No, they didn't," Hermione said slowly like she was recalling something, "I think they only wanted to lure Jan to me."

The attention focus shifted to Janieve. She was still sitting next to the fireplace in a daze. Her eyes were transfixed on the dying fire since they got back to the Gryffindor common room a while ago.

Ron walked towards her. "Look, er, I'm sorry about, you know…" Ron said awkwardly. He extended a hand out towards her.

"I'm sorry too. I was wrong about you," Seamus said as he stood up and walked towards her. Dean followed.

"Thanks for saving my life back there," Neville added.

Janieve snapped out of her reverie and startled as if it was only then did she notice the presence of the four boys standing before her.

"What?" she asked. Ron turned to look at Harry questioningly.

The door to the common room swung open and in came tall woman with black rimmed glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose and her hair scrunched up in a bun.

"Professor McGonagall!" Hermione and Neville shouted in unison.

"I came to inform you that Miss Ginny Weasley had come to. You may visit her at the hospital wing," she said.

As everyone scrambled out of the common room, McGonagall grabbed Harry's arm and said, "please come with me to the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore wishes to speak to you."

"And you too," she added, looking at Janieve.

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"Take a seat," Professor Dumbledore offered.

"Professor Dumbledore, is everyone okay?" Harry asked when both Janieve and he were seated.

"They are fine. Everyone's back at the headquarters," he assured them. Harry noticed the age lines beneath his headmaster's eyes. It suddenly occurred to him that Dumbledore was really old. Somehow, that thought had never crossed Harry's mind.

"Professor, why is Voldemort so determined to kill me?" Janieve asked.

"Janieve, has it occurred to you why I placed you with the sixth years when you had no prior knowledge of magic?" he asked.

Janieve shook her head.

"Other than the fact that you might stick out like a sore thumb among the first years, I wanted you to be friends with Harry," he said.

"What?" Harry blurted.

"Why?" Janieve asked.

"A few weeks before school started, which was a week before we found you, an ex-Professor from Hogwarts made a prophecy about Harry," Dumbledore explained.

"Professor Trelawney!" Harry interrupted. Janieve looked between the two of them in puzzlement.

"I went to Hogsmeade to meet Professor Snape. He had some secret information for me. At the Hogs Head inn, I saw Sybill. She spoke in the same way she did sixteen years ago when she made the prophecy about you. There was no one at the bar except for me, Trelawney, and the man serving us.

A few weeks after that, I heard he disappeared. I knew something bad was going to happen. Then Harry you had that vision of Voldemort during your Herbology lesson. I knew it was a matter of time before Voldemort found out the content of the prophecy."

"It was Professor Trelawney!" Harry exclaimed in realisation.

"Unfortunately we are unable to find her to date," Dumbledore said.

"What was the prophecy about?" Janieve asked.

"Perhaps I'll show you," Dumbledore replied. He pointed his wand at his head and drew out a strand of silvery memory. He dipped them into the Pensieve and the three of them watched it swirled for a moment. Dumbledore then prodded the liquid and raise a figure out of it.

Professor Trelawney, draped in shawl, spoke in an ethereal yet harsh voice Harry had seen more than once before.

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will find his power… The power to vanquish will be found in the progeny of his right hand man… His very own servant who had shown immense loyalty to him will be the bearers of the power, born in the heart of the second month, born in the same year as the one who will use the power to vanquish the Dark Lord…_

Professor Trelawney slowly revolved back into the basin.

"I don't –" Janieve began, but was cut off by Harry.

"That power is – is Janieve?" Harry stuttered. "I thought you said it was my mother's love?"

"Yes and yes, Harry," Dumbledore answered him wearily. "Your mother indeed bestowed the power to protect you. When she sacrificed her life to save you, she sealed the spell to protect you from Voldemort. But I suppose that is not enough for you to defeat him."

It suddenly made sense to Harry why Wormtail had tried to stop Voldemort from fighting them upon seeing Harry's arrival. Everything suddenly made sense to him.

"But, how?" Janieve asked. "How can I help him?"

"I don't know, Janieve," Dumbledore said, his eyes looking sad and tired, "That's my guess as good as yours."


	32. Resolution

Chapter 32: Resolution

Janieve sipped the Butterbeer while juggling the enormous book 'The Wizard Who Had Never Been To Gringotts'. It was surprisingly interesting and hilarious. Janieve actually laughed aloud a few times.

_Knock, knock._

Janieve, too engrossed in her book, did not look up.

"Ahem!"

Janieve startled and dropped her book to the floor.

"Hey," she said to the intruder.

"Hi Jan," Harry said, "I've been searching for you all over. I should have guessed you are here."

Janieve smiled, but the smile was wan and did not reach her eyes. She shifted in the couch she had conjured with the room of requirement and motioned for Harry to join her.

Harry sat down beside her, his hands clasped. "I came to apologise," Harry said.

"For what?" she asked.

"Many things," Harry replied. "For not trusting you. For killing your mother. For not standing by your side when you obviously needed me to. For not being a good boyfriend. Not even a decent one," he said sadly.

Janieve studied his face. There was nothing but remorse. She softened and almost gave in. Almost.

"First of all, as far as I'm concerned, she's not my mother. And I don't blame you for killing her. You shouldn't too. She probably deserved it," Janieve said bitterly. "As for the trust part…"

Harry looked at her expectantly. Though he was trying not to look too hopeful, Janieve knew him better than that.

"I'm sorry," Harry repeated morosely.

"It's okay," she said, sighing. "It was nobody's fault."

Harry looked immensely relieved.

"But," she went on, "it just made me think about our relationship. We might have jumped into it too quickly. All these problems we had… I don't know. Perhaps we needed some time to know each other better, to learn to trust…"

Harry looked crestfallen.

"I'm sorry," Janieve apologised.

"No, don't be," Harry said, "I understand. But we can still be friends right?"

"Yeah," said Janieve, smiling slightly.

"Good," Harry said and stood up abruptly, "I'm going to leave you to your book. I'll see you at dinner."

"See you."

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"Harry, here. Hurry!" Ron urged.

"Coming," Harry muttered as he lugged his suitcase through the throngs of students scrambling for an empty cabin on the Hogwarts express.

Finally he reached the room where Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Janieve, Dean, Neville and Seamus sat.

"Looks really spacious," Harry said sarcastically.

"Oh come on Harry," Hermione said cheerfully, "it's really cozy." Harry cramped his suitcase into the luggage compartment and squeezed into the space next to Hermione.

"If anyone had suggested to me before this that eight persons can fit into this cabin," Dean said, "I would have laughed my ass off."

Ginny smacked him at his choice of words.

"Ouch, Gin!"

Harry tuned out the rest of the conversation. He was feeling kind of dispirited at the thought of going back to stay with the Dursleys. The feeling was even stronger this summer for he knew he not only had to say goodbye to his friends, he also had to bid farewell to Janieve.

Harry tried to console himself with the fact that he did not have to stay with his uncle and aunt for the entire summer. He would have turned the legal age of wizards before the start of August.

The train rattled to a stop at King's Cross station. They grabbed their things and stepped onto platform 9¾. Mr. and Mrs Weasley, Tonks, Lupin, Moody, Fred and George were already waiting for them.

When Harry reached them, he grabbed Lupin into a hug on impulse. With only a split-second's hesitation, Lupin hugged him back.

"I'm so glad you're here," Harry told him earnestly when they finally pulled apart. He helped Harry towed his luggage, and together with the others, exited the barrier which led them to the muggles' station.

Among the crowd, Harry spotted his Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and his cousin Dudley.

"Take care now, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said and drew him into a suffocating hug. "We'll see you soon."

"You take care of yourself too, Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied when she finally released him.

"Bye Harry," Hermione said as she hugged him.

"Bye Hermione. Bye Ron."

"See you after summer," Ron said as the two guys patted each other's back.

Harry turned to Janieve, who was lingering behind awkwardly, but both of them said nothing.

"Er…" Harry began.

Janieve flung her arms around his neck and rested her head on Harry's shoulder. "I'll see you back at school," she said into his ear.

Harry grabbed her back and held her tighter. "Take care, Jan," he said when they finally let go.

He grabbed Hedwig and dragged his baggage towards the Dursleys. When he reached them, he turned back and gave his friends one last wave.

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It is my pleasure to announce to you that we've reached the end of this series, The Blood of The Enemy. I want to thank all of you for all the reviews you've given me so generously. I'm sorry if some of you are disappointed that Harry and Jan are not together but that's only because this is not the end. I've already started writing the sequel and I will be posting them very soon. Hope I'll continue to see all of your reviews. Thank you!

I'd like to leave you with a part of a song which had given me a lot of inspiration when I was writing this fanfic. Here is, Only One by Yellowcard.

_Here I go, so dishonestly leave a note, for you my only one. And I know, you will see right through me so let me go, and you will find someone…_


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